CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Capita

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on how many occasions Capita Group plc tendered for contracts let by his Department in each of the last five years; how many such tenders were successful; how much his Department paid to Capita Group plc for the execution of contracts in each such year; how many contracts which terminate after 2010 Capita Group plc hold with his Department; and what the monetary value is of all outstanding contracts between his Department and Capita Group plc.

Si�n Simon: The Capita Group plc have tendered for contracts let by the Department in the last five years as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2008-09 1 
			 2007-08 2 
			 2006-07 0 
			 2005-06 1 
			 2004-05 3 
		
	
	Two of these tenders were successful, both in 2007-08. These were to carry out an executive search role to appoint the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of Sport England and to provide the Department with a flight travel booking service.
	Capita were paid £29,250 for the executive search contract in 2007-08. For the flight travel booking service the following has been paid:
	2007-08: £31,234
	2008-09: £127,235
	Neither of these contracts will terminate after 2010.
	There is no outstanding amount with reference to the executive search contract, while the flight travel booking service does not have an outstanding monetary value associated as this will be dependent upon the number of flights booked within the remaining term of the contract.

Christmas

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much  (a) his Department and  (b) its agency has spent on Christmas (i) cards, (ii) parties and (iii) decorations in the last 12-months.

Si�n Simon: My Department (i) produced an e-card using internal services, (ii) used no official funds for departmental Christmas parties and (iii) spent £559.44 on undressed Christmas trees (decorations were reused from previous years) for Christmas 2008.
	The Royal Parks (i) spent £200 on Christmas e-cards, (ii) had their staff Christmas party paid for by The Royal Parks directors and (iii) spent no money on decorations in the last 12 months.

Departmental Contracts

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether his Department has entered into any contracts with Siemens or its subsidiaries since February 2009.

Si�n Simon: The Department for Culture Media and Sport does not hold any contracts with Siemens or its subsidiaries.

Departmental Information Officers

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many full-time equivalent press officers  (a) are employed by and  (b) work for his Department.

Si�n Simon: There are nine full-time equivalent press officers employed by the Department and one full-time equivalent currently on secondment from another Government Department.

Departmental Pay

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many  (a) year end and  (b) in year bonuses were paid to officials in his Department in (i) 2006-07 and (ii) 2007-08; how many in year bonuses were paid in 2008-09; and how much was paid out in bonuses in each year.

Si�n Simon: The Department makes non-consolidated performance payments to its employees for two purposes:  (a ) year end non-consolidated performance payments to reward highly successful performance over a whole year; and  (b ) in year non-consolidated performance payments to reward outstanding contributions in particularly demanding tasks or situations. These figures cover all civil servants on standard terms. They are exclusive of two key senior staff in the Government Olympic Executive, who were appointed on non-standard terms with fixed term contracts ending in 2012 and whose remuneration reflects extensive relevant experience and the unique challenge of delivering the Olympics to a fixed deadline. Details of their remuneration were published in the departmental annual reports and accounts 2009. The data are set out in the table.
	
		
			   Number of year end non-consolidated performance payments  Number of in year non-consolidated performance payments  Total amount paid out (£) 
			 2008-09 219 178 517,167 
			 2007-08 235 144 520,713 
			 2006-07 149 96 392,114

Departmental Taxis

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many miles  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials in his Department have travelled by taxi in the course of their official duties in each year since 1997; and at what cost to the public purse in each such year.

Si�n Simon: All official travel is undertaken in accordance with rules set out in the Department's staff guide under Travel and Subsistence and is consistent with the civil service management code. Travel by Ministers is in respect of their ministerial duties and complies with guidance set out in the Ministerial Code.
	The Department's records relating to expenditure and mileage on taxis are not analysed by the categories requested and to provide this would incur disproportionate cost.
	As part of monitoring the Department's carbon emissions, the Department's supplier has provided the overall mileage incurred for pre-booked taxis since 2006-07. These details are set out in the following table. Records for earlier years and for hailed taxis are not available.
	The total expenditure incurred by the Department on taxis since 1998-99, the earliest year for which information is readily available, is also set out in the table.
	
		
			  Financial year  Amount (£)  Mileage (pre-booked taxis only) 
			 2008-09 32,179 7,276 
			 2007-08 36,359 9,287 
			 2006-07 38,421 6,002 
			 2005-06 21,759 - 
			 2004-05 22,157 - 
			 2003-04 21,878 - 
			 2002-03 16,109 - 
			 2001-02 20,812 - 
			 2000-01 26,415 - 
			 1999-2000 21,686 - 
			 1998-99 15,891 - 
		
	
	These figures represent expenditure on taxis and black cabs but exclude expenditure in respect of ministerial car service provided by The Government Car and Despatch Agency. In addition, some expenditure on taxis and black cabs included under general travel and subsistence account cannot be separately identified except at disproportionate cost.

Digital Broadcasting: Video Equipment

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many people have lost functionality of video recorders as a result of the digital switchover in  (a) East Devon,  (b) Devon and  (c) England.

Si�n Simon: Digital television services can be recorded using any standard recording device including video recorders (VCR). Therefore, in terms of recording functions, no one should lose functionality of their VCR after switchover. However, in areas where digital switchover has taken place, any VCR with an analogue tuner will not be able to independently record one digital channel while the TV receiver is tuned to another digital channel.
	For Devon, Digital UK has estimated that around 1 per cent. of homes experienced problems with independent recording following switchover in the region. It is too early in the switchover process to quote figures for England.

Gambling: Addiction

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the number of problem gamblers requiring specialist treatment; and what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the level of voluntary contributions from the gambling industry for the treatment of problem gambling.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The British Gambling Prevalence Survey (BGPS) 2007 estimated that 0.6 per cent. of the adult population are categorised as problem gamblers, however the Department does not hold data on the number of problem gamblers requiring specialist treatment.
	The gambling industry has agreed to provide a minimum of £5 million each year over three years to fund the research, education and treatment of problem gambling. The Department continues to monitor progress against the agreed funding targets.

KBR

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport whether his Department has entered into any contracts with Kellogg, Brown and Root or its subsidiaries since January 2009.

Si�n Simon: The Department has not entered into any contracts with Kellogg, Brown and Root or its subsidiaries.

Pyramid Selling

David Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many representations his Department has received alleging breaches of the prohibition on chain-gifting under section 43 of the Gambling Act 2005 since the entry into force of that provision; and whether any prosecutions have been made for offences under that section.

Gerry Sutcliffe: My Department has not received any representations alleging breaches of the prohibition on chain gifting under section 43 of the Gambling Act 2005 since the provisions came into force. Information regarding any prosecutions for offences under that section would be held by the Ministry of Justice.

Sports: East of England

Malcolm Moss: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many sports and leisure facilities there are in each  (a) district and  (b) unitary local authority area in the Eastern region.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			  Local authority  Number of facilities 
			 Babergh District 191 
			 Basildon District 247 
			 Bedford District 433 
			 Braintree District 247 
			 Breckland District 210 
			 Brentwood District 180 
			 Broadland District 189 
			 Broxbourne District 151 
			 Cambridge District 248 
			 Castle Point District 132 
			 Chelmsford District 358 
			 City of Peterborough 232 
			 Colchester District 343 
			 Dacorum District 378 
			 East Cambridgeshire District 180 
			 East Hertfordshire District 313 
			 Epping Forest District 244 
			 Fenland District 152 
			 Forest Heath District 83 
			 Great Yarmouth District 137 
			 Harlow District 137 
			 Hertsmere District 269 
			 Huntingdonshire District 310 
			 Ipswich District 210 
			 King's Lynn and West Norfolk District 250 
			 Luton 256 
			 Maldon district 99 
			 Mid Bedfordshire District 306 
			 Mid Suffolk District 218 
			 North Hertfordshire district 273 
			 North Norfolk District 216 
			 Norwich District 155 
			 Rochford District 150 
			 South Bedfordshire District 251 
			 South Cambridgeshire District 343 
			 South Norfolk District 287 
			 Southend-on-Sea 266 
			 St. Albans District 373 
			 St. Edmundsbury District 236 
			 Stevenage District 136 
			 Suffolk Coastal District 323 
			 Tendring District 177 
			 Three Rivers District 184 
			 Thurrock 236 
			 Uttlesford District 189 
			 Watford District 125 
			 Waveney District 197 
			 Welwyn Hatfield District 209 
			 Total 11,029 
			  Note: The number of facilities is not the same as the number of sites: there may be more than one facility on any given site.

DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Cadets

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what funding will be disbursed to the army cadet programme in  (a) 2009,  (b) 2010 and  (c) 2011;
	(2)  whether he plans further to reduce the budget of the army cadet programme;
	(3)  what his most recent assessment is of the likely effects on recruitment to the army cadet programme of reductions in its budget.

Bill Rammell: holding answer 23 November 2009
	The funding disbursed to the army cadet programme in 2009 was £42.46 million. In-year savings have reduced this amount by £4 million.
	Planning is under way across the Army for next and future financial years but it is too early to say what the outcome of this will be.
	We are extremely grateful to the adult cadet instructors for their commitment and dedication. As a result of their leadership, the vast majority of cadet detachments are riding out the temporary difficulties caused by the reduction in the Army Cadet Force budget this year.

Armed Forces: Vehicles

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many military Land Rovers are deployed in Northern Ireland.

Bill Rammell: There are currently 266 military Land Rovers in Northern Ireland.

Departmental Internet

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the cost was of maintaining his Department's website in the 2008-09 financial year; and what the forecast cost is of maintaining websites within his responsibility in the 2009-10 financial year.

Bill Rammell: The Ministry of Defence and armed forces collectively maintain four corporate websites. Identified direct expenditure on running these in the financial year 2008-09 was as detailed in the following table. This analysis complies with the guidance issued by COI on the methodology for identifying website costs in response to a Public Accounts Committee recommendation(1).
	(1) Public Account Committee Sixteenth Report;
	http://www.publications.parliament.Uk/pa/cm200708/cmselect/cmpubacc/143/l4302.htm
	
		
			  Website  URL  FY 2008-09 (£)  FY 2009-10( 1)  (£) 
			 MOD Corporate Website www.mod.uk 464,853 485,305(2) 
			 Royal Navy www.royalnavy.mod.uk 283,000 283,000 
			 British Army www.army.mod.uk 501,814 n/a(3) 
			 Royal Air Force www.raf.mod.uk 425,241 423,663 
			 (1) Forecast costs for 2009-10 are based on the best available information. (2) Excludes some external support costs which cannot be separated out from costs incurred in support of the internal Defence Intranet. (3) Projected costs for FY 2009-10 are not available as the rationalisation of Army websites is in the scoping phase and costs are being defined. It is likely to be in the region of £1.35 million. 
		
	
	A number of other websites are run by different parts of the Ministry of Defence, but these are not managed centrally. This information could only be provided at disproportionate cost.

Geneva Conventions

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what advice his Department gives British troops in theatre on their requirements under the Geneva Convention.

Bill Rammell: Aspects of the Geneva Convention are applied throughout military training and will be bolstered before deployment to an operational theatre by further mandatory training, common across all the Services. Irrespective of the theatre to which a person is deploying, specific training based on the Geneva Convention as applied to UK law must be fulfilled. This training includes: compliance with operational law, such as the legal basis for operations, the law of armed conflict, the application of the rules of engagement, the use of force, prisoner handling, understanding the powers of stop and search and the powers of arrest; culture and language training, including cultural awareness; firepower training, including identifying and engaging targets and reacting to fire control orders; and protection training, including procedures for challenging and reaction to direct and indirect attack.
	All deployed personnel are issued a rules of engagement card, which specifies exactly the aspects of the law that allows them to conduct operations and react to hostile action.
	Role specific training that covers the pertinent application of the Geneva Convention is also undertaken. For example, dedicated prisoner handling teams and medics are briefed in depth of their responsibilities that may be in addition to those usually held.
	Trained and qualified lawyers are deployed on all standing operations and are an integral part of the targeting process, are consulted on all forms of the conduct of operations and are available for specialist queries if doubt exists.

Royal Military Academy: Admissions

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many people have applied for a place at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in each month of the last five years; and how many of those applications were rejected in each such month.

Bill Rammell: The following table provides the number of applicants who attended the three and half day Army Officer Selection Board (AOSB) and those that were successful.
	
		
			  Financial year  Those that having applied to join the Army were invited to attend AOSB  Those that were successful at AOSB 
			 2009-10 to date 613 294 
			 2008-09 1,482 816 
			 2007-08 1,068 608 
			 2006-07 1,602 843 
			 2005-06 1,531 865 
			 2004-05 1,140 604 
		
	
	Those that are found unsuccessful at any stage of the officer recruitment process will be given feedback on where they have not met the required standard. Those who attend AOSB and are unsuccessful are rarely rejected outright. Their application will usually remain open, should they at some point decide to re-apply.
	These figures do not include: serving soldiers applying to become officers, potential Gurkha officers, Territorial Army applicants or professionally qualified officer applicants (doctors, lawyers, etc).

Somalia: Piracy

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department has taken to contribute to measures to deter piracy in the Gulf of Aden in the last five years; what contribution his Department has received from the governments of  (a) Kenya and  (b) the Seychelles in such effects; and what steps are available to armed forces personnel upon detection of an act of piracy on the Gulf of Aden.

Bill Rammell: We are taking the situation off the coast of Somalia very seriously and have played an important role in developing the military response to pirate activity. We have key command roles within all of the international task forces and continue to develop our strategies in line with changing operational and political requirements. Piracy is a symptom of wider instability in Somalia and the MOD continues to work comprehensively with other Government Departments and the International community as part of a coherent strategy to address the root causes of piracy.
	The UK is providing a sizeable contribution to the military effort in the region and has a leading role in countering pirate activity off the coast of Somalia:
	MOD has been at the forefront of the European Union mission-Operation Atalanta-since it was introduced in December 2008, providing the Operation Commander, the Operation HQ at Northwood, and a frigate for the first period of the operation.
	The Royal Navy has a long standing commitment of frigates and a tanker to the Combined Maritime Force conducting maritime security operations in the region.
	The Royal Navy is a contributor to the Standing NATO Maritime Groups, which at present are rotationally undertaking NATO's counter piracy mission-Operation Ocean Shield. The UK currently has command of Standing NATO Maritime Group 2.
	The Royal Navy manned UK Maritime Trade Organisation has been supporting Merchant Vessels transiting through the region since 2001.
	The UK has a bilateral arrangement with the Kenyan and Seychellois Governments which allows the transfer of suspected pirates for prosecution. Kenya is currently prosecuting eight suspected pirates detained by a Royal Navy vessel. We are very grateful for their ongoing support.
	Royal Navy vessels and coalition forces in the region seek to deter and disrupt pirate activity. Specifically, Royal Navy vessels can actively search for suspected pirate vessels. The Royal Navy can also take robust action to come to the aid of a victim vessel under attack by pirates in international waters. This can again range from deterring and disrupting the attack to the use of reasonable force to defend the victims. However, the safety of any hostages involved remains paramount.
	If suspected pirates are encountered, a decision will be made by the UK Maritime Component Commander, based on legal advice, on whether or not they could be transferred to a regional state for prosecution. If there is insufficient evidence to be confident of a successful prosecution, they will be released. Any piracy equipment found, such as ladders and weapons will be seized and disposed of accordingly.

Somalia: Piracy

Claire Curtis-Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many pirates have been apprehended by UK forces off the Somalia coast; whether prosecutions have been brought against any of them; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: To date, eight suspected Somali pirates have been detained by the Royal Navy and transferred to Kenya for prosecution. A further 53 suspected pirates have been encountered during boarding operations. However, following detailed analysis of all physical evidence and witness statements, all suspects were released as it was assessed that there was insufficient evidence to be reasonably confident that a successful prosecution could be undertaken in either Kenya or (more recently) Seychelles. The subsequent destruction of any pirate equipment and weapons serves as a disruption measure and prevents their future use.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Agriculture: Subsidies

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the European Commission on the effectiveness of controls over payments under the 2005 and 2006 Single Farm Payment schemes.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Department has, in the normal way, been in regular discussion with the European Commission to follow up audits of the 2005 and 2006 Single Payment Schemes. However, no definitive conclusions have been reached to date and further discussions are expected in due course.

Badgers

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many licences to move badger setts English Nature has issued in each of the last 10 years.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Policy on wildlife management issues is a devolved matter, therefore this answer relates to England only.
	Since it was formed in October 2006, Natural England has issued all licences under the Protection of Badgers Act 1992. Prior to this the licensing responsibility was split between English Nature and DEFRA depending upon the purpose for which the licence was to be issued.
	Licences are not issued to move badger setts, but to trap and move badgers. The number of licences issued each year since 2001 is as follows:
	
		
			   Number of licenses 
			 2008 0 
			 2007 1 
			 2006 0 
			 2005 1 
			 2004 1 
			 2003 2 
			 2002 0 
			 2001 2 
		
	
	Records are unavailable prior to 2001. The 2007 licence was issued by Natural England. The licences from 2001 to 2005 were issued by DEFRA.

Forests

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has for the implementation of the recommendation of the recent report commissioned by the Forestry Commission for an additional four per cent. of the United Kingdom's land to be planted with new woodland.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Forestry is a devolved matter so plans for woodland creation in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is a matter for the respective governments. In England DEFRA and the Forestry Commission are working with key stakeholders to develop a framework to encourage an enhanced woodland creation programme. This work is being undertaken to respond to the potential for woodland creation to deliver emissions abatement as outlined in the UK Low Carbon Transition Plan and to the announcement that 'the Government would support a new drive to encourage private funding for woodland creation'. Progress on this work will be outlined in DEFRA's Climate Change Plan early next year.

Livestock: Antibiotics

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent estimate he has made of the level of use of the practice of using antibiotics as a surrogate for growth promoters in livestock.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Following the ban of antimicrobial growth promoters by the EU in 2006, DEFRA is not aware of any evidence to suggest that farmers are using antibiotics as replacements for antimicrobial growth promoters.

Poultry: Animal Welfare

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with the European Commission on potential or actual applications by EU member states for additional time to phase out conventional laying cages for hens;
	(2)  what progress has been made on discussions on the introduction of an intra-Community trade ban on eggs and egg products produced by hens housed in conventional cages after 1 January 2012; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Government are committed to supporting the egg industry during this transitional period and DEFRA officials are continuing to press the Commission and work alongside the industry and any like-minded member states to ensure that everything is done to maintain the ban on eggs and egg products produced by hens housed in conventional cages across the EU. We will continue to discuss this within wider meetings of the commission and other member states.
	We have not heard of any applications by other member states for a delay to the ban. However, we have asked the commission to be ready should any such applications be made: to provide sufficient enforcement controls to ensure the ban can be enforced appropriately so that compliant producers and member states are protected from negative impacts of any non-compliance.
	At the meeting of the Standing Committee of Food Chain and Animal Health (SCoFCAH) held on the 30 November, the commission made it clear to all member states that the ban stands and that it must be implemented in full on 1 January 2012, otherwise member states would risk facing infraction proceedings.

Rodents

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the answer of 11 June 2009,  Official Report, column 961W, on rats, if he will assess the implications for his Department's policies of reports of rising trends in rat numbers; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: With reference to the answer of 11 June 2009,  Official Report, column 961W, on rats: the English House Condition Survey did not show a rising trend in rat numbers. Under the Prevention of Damage by Pests Act 1954, local authorities have a duty to take such steps as may be necessary to secure so far as practicable that their district is kept free from rats. We have no plans to change this.

Rodents

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the answer of 11 June 2009,  Official Report, column 961W, on rats, when officials of his Department last met the UK pest control industry's Rodenticide Resistant Action Group; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: DEFRA is not a member of the Rodenticide Resistant Action Group and does not attend its meetings. However, Natural England's Wildlife Management and Licensing Service does attend meetings as a member of the group and it provides DEFRA with expert advice with regard to operational aspects of wildlife management.

Rural Development Programme

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what projects have been funded by regional development agencies under the  (a) Axis 1 and  (b) Axis 3 of the Rural Development programme for England since the programme began; and how much funding was awarded for each project.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The information requested is not obtainable within the time available. I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of the letter in the Library of the House.

Thames Water and Yorkshire Water: Sewers

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the answer of 16 June 2009,  Official Report, column 156W, on rodents, whether his Department has reviewed the revised sewer protocols of Thames Water and Yorkshire Water and their respective local authorities; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: DEFRA has not reviewed the revised sewer protocols of Thames Water and Yorkshire Water and their respective local authorities. The protocols provide a mechanism for improved communication and co-ordination between the two privatised water companies and their respective local authorities with regard to the control of rats in sewers.

Water Supply

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs if his Department will take steps to ensure water companies are responsible for water supply pipes to homes.

Huw Irranca-Davies: Water companies are responsible for water mains and the supply pipes that run to the boundary of individual properties. Householders are responsible for the pipes within their curtilage. The Government have no plans to change these arrangements.

Water: Meters

Patrick McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many water meters were installed by water supply companies in households in West Derbyshire constituency in the last three years.

Huw Irranca-Davies: The following table shows the number of meters installed by Severn Trent Water, the water and sewerage service provider for West Derbyshire, over the last three years.
	
		
			  Household meter installation  Meters installed 
			 2006-07 38,594 
			 2007-08 33,215 
			 2008-09 44,331 
		
	
	Ofwat, the economic regulator of the water and sewerage industry, does not collect information on the numbers of meters installed by constituency and so this information is given for the whole area covered by Severn Trent Water.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

China: Milk

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Chinese authorities on tainted milk in that country.

Ivan Lewis: Although my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has not had any discussions with the Chinese authorities on tainted milk, my noble Friend the Minister of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Lord Davies of Abersoch, and UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) officials have raised with them the claims by UK companies for compensation against Chinese suppliers of products containing tainted milk.
	Separately, the Department for International Development have recently signed a UK-China Food Safety Action Plan and are working with the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture and relevant partners on improving agricultural collaboration.

Devolved Administrations

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on how many occasions he has had discussions with the representatives of devolved administrations in  (a) Scotland,  (b) Wales and  (c) Northern Ireland in an official capacity since devolution took place.

Chris Bryant: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office does not maintain a comprehensive record of all contact between the current and previous Foreign Secretaries and representatives of the Devolved Administrations since the devolution settlement. There would be disproportionate costs incurred to provide this information.

Driving

Stephen Ladyman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what mechanisms are in place to ensure that staff who drive  (a) a vehicle for which (i) his Department and (ii) one of its executive agencies is responsible have valid driving licences and  (b) their own vehicles in the course of their official duties for (A) his Department and (B) one of its executive agencies have valid driving licences and insurance; what guidance is issued to those staff in respect of road safety while carrying out official duties; what steps are taken to monitor compliance with that guidance; what requirements there are on such staff to report to their line managers accidents in which they are involved while driving in the course of their official duties; and whether such reports are investigated.

Ivan Lewis: The following mechanisms are in place covering those staff using UK fleet vehicles for which Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Services is responsible:
	The Transport Management Team request and hold copies on file of driving licences of all FCO staff who require hire of official vehicles and visual checks are carried out every six months. This is in line with Freight Transport Association (FTA) regulations.
	Staff are covered under a central insurance policy while using official cars for official duties.
	The Transport Management Team within FCO Services monitors a range of measures to ensure road safety among their drivers including:
	All FCO Services large goods vehicle (LGV) drivers attend at least 35 hours of compulsory training every five years in accordance with FTA/Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency regulations.
	Transport Managers who manage drivers with legal commitments (driving hours, tachograph, 48 hour Working Time Directive) have all undertaken and hold the Certificate of Professional Competence (CPC) in Road Transport. Drivers are also now undertaking the drivers' CPC qualification.
	A programme of courses is in place to up-skill drivers which looks at driving techniques in difficult driving situations.
	All accidents involving FCO Fleet vehicles or affecting FCO Services drivers are documented and investigated in accordance with law.
	It is not possible to provide an answer covering official vehicles at post overseas without incurring disproportionate cost as arrangements are post specific.
	No checks are made on the licences of those staff who use their own vehicles in the course of their official duties. Staff should ensure that their own insurance policy covers use for business purposes. There is no requirement for checks to be made.
	No guidance is issued to staff in respect of road safety while using their own vehicles for official duties in the UK. Guidance may be issued to those staff using their own vehicles overseas although this would be specific to the post.
	There is no requirement for staff to report accidents in which they are involved while driving their own vehicles in the course of their official duties.

EU Law

David Heathcoat-Amory: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
	(1)  what EU legislative provisions on police and judicial co-operation in criminal matters adopted on the basis of the Treaty on European Union, other than those that constitute part of the Schengen acquis, apply to the UK and  (a) are in force and  (b) are due to come into force;
	(2)  what EU legislative provisions on police and judicial co-operation in criminal matters adopted on the basis of the Treaty on European Union apply to the UK and constitute part of the Schengen acquis; and which of them  (a) are in force and  (b) are due to come into force;
	(3)  what EC legislative provisions adopted on the basis of Title IV of Part Three of the Treaty establishing the European Community that apply to the UK and constitute part of the Schengen acquis  (a) are in force and  (b) are due to come into force;
	(4)  what EC legislative provisions adopted on the basis of Title IV of Part Three of the Treaty establishing the European Community, other than those that that constitute part of the Schengen acquis, apply to the UK and  (a) are in force and  (b) are due to come into force.

Meg Hillier: I have been asked to reply.
	All EU legislative provisions on police and judicial co-operation in criminal matters adopted on the basis of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) apply to the UK, with the exception of the Council Decision concerning access for consultation of the Visa Information System (VIS) by designated authorities of member states and by Europol for the purposes of the prevention, detection and investigation of terrorist offences and of other serious criminal offences. The UK was excluded from that measure on the basis that it builds on that part of the Schengen acquis in which the UK does not participate. The UK is challenging this decision before the European Court of Justice.
	The only other measures adopted with a legal base in the TEU which build on the Schengen acquis are those relating to the development of the second generation Schengen Information System, where the UK will participate in the police and justice elements of that system. The Council is also negotiating a Council Decision with a TEU legal base to create a mechanism to evaluate applications to join the Schengen area.
	We do not participate in any measures building on the Schengen acquis with a legal basis in Title IV of the Treaty establishing the European Community (TEC). This is because the UK has not opted into that part of the Schengen acquis which deals with visa and immigration. This is one of the areas regulated by Title IV TEC (the other being civil law, which is not an area of Schengen co-operation).
	Measures with a legal basis in Title IV TEC which do not build on the Schengen acquis are subject to the Title IV opt-in protocol on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland, which means the UK can chose what it participates in.
	To date we have opted in to 43 measures on asylum and migration and 15 measures on civil law. There are 82 measures which we have either not opted in to or have not been eligible to participate in.
	Details of all adopted EU JHA legislation can be found at:
	http://eur-lex.europa.eu/en/legis/20091101/chap19.htm

European Commission

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has received any recent representations on proposals for an oath of loyalty to the European Commission.

Chris Bryant: No, none whatsoever.

Immobilisation of Vehicles

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much his Department has paid in vehicle clamping charges incurred on  (a) privately-owned and  (b) publicly-owned land in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Bryant: The requested information is not recorded centrally. However following consultation with the relevant directorates it is believed that no vehicle clamping charges have been paid.

Iran: Arms Control

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the answer of 2 November 2009,  Official Report, column 662W, on Iran, on how many occasions the UK has interdicted Iranian weapon shipments in Afghanistan in the last three years.

David Miliband: The UK has worked with International Security Assistance Force to interdict shipments of weapons to the Taliban, including from Iran. It is the longstanding policy of the Government not to comment on specific operational matters.

Nigeria

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with the government of Nigeria on child welfare in that country, with particular reference to the situation of children identified by other people as witches or wizards.

Ivan Lewis: We remain deeply concerned about the problem of children being accused of witchcraft in Nigeria. Our high commissioner in Abuja has been in frequent contact with the Governor of Akwa Ibom State to raise our concerns, including in July this year in response to information that charities dealing with the issue in the State had suffered intimidation.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office also funds part of the work Stepping Stones Nigeria and the Child Rights and Rehabilitation Network are undertaking in Akwa Ibom State including a public enlightenment campaign, which we hope will help change attitudes towards so-called 'child witchcraft'.

Religious Freedom

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on the treatment of  (a) converts to and  (b) adherents of Christianity in (i) the Middle East and (ii) elsewhere.

Ivan Lewis: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and our embassies overseas regularly report and lobby on human rights issues, including freedom of religion or belief.
	Our embassies have recently lobbied on the challenges facing non-Islamic faiths in Algeria, analysed the Egyptian authorities' record on promoting and protecting the rights of Christians in Egypt, and encouraged the Government of Iraq to protect all communities regardless of political, ethnic or religious affiliation. Outside of the middle east, we remain concerned about the suppression of religious freedoms in countries such as China, North Korea and Uzbekistan. We raise these concerns in our regular human rights dialogues with China, and with other Governments at appropriate opportunities.
	The UK strongly supports the right to freedom of religion or belief, including the right to manifest one's religion or belief, the right to change one's religion or belief and the right not to hold any religious belief. We work closely with EU partners to promote freedom of religion or belief as part of our wider support for human rights. In November, the European Council reaffirmed its strong commitment to freedom of religion or belief and the importance of EU action to promote and protect it.

Russia: Politics and Government

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has had recent discussions with the Russian government on  (a) the rule of law,  (b) property rights,  (c) human rights and  (d) political stability in the Russian Federation; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Bryant: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary had detailed and wide ranging discussions with Foreign Minister Lavrov when he visited Moscow from 1 to 3 November 2009. Topics included our concerns about human rights and the rule of law. The Foreign Secretary stressed both the importance of effective investigations into attacks on human rights defenders and journalists, including in the North Caucasus, and the importance of the rule of law in protecting property rights and safeguarding investments. The Foreign Secretary also met non-governmental organisations and civil society in Moscow, when he listened to their concerns and reasserted that the UK will continue raising human rights concerns as part of a comprehensive dialogue with the Russian authorities. I followed up these discussions during my recent meeting with Deputy Foreign Minister Karasin.
	Human rights and the progress of Russian democracy are high on the agenda and we do not shy away from making our concerns known. We support President Medvedev's ambition to improve the rule of law in Russia, as an important way of protecting human rights and reducing corruption. We want to see democracy in Russia deliver political pluralism and all its associated freedoms. We believe that an open and democratic Russia will provide better opportunities for the Russian people and consolidate Russia as a stable and reliable international partner for the global community.
	The Foreign and Commonwealth Office spent £1.5 million supporting local human rights projects in Russia in 2008-09. These included promoting media freedom and journalists' safety, particularly in the North Caucasus, preventing interethnic conflict and working with the families of conflict victims to improve access to justice through the European Court of Human Rights.

Serbia

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make it a condition of Serbia's accession to the European Union that that country shall not be able to exercise a veto over subsequent accession by Kosovo; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Bryant: The UK firmly supports the perspective of EU membership for both Serbia and Kosovo. In so doing, the UK emphasises the importance the EU attaches to good neighbourly relations, a factor which is formally taken into account as part of an applicant country's accession process. Against this background, the UK continues to give firm encouragement to both Serbia and Kosovo to work together to develop a constructive relationship, in order to reinforce stability in the region and facilitate the prospects for its EU integration.

Uzbekistan

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the decision by the European Council not to renew the remaining restrictive measures against Uzbekistan as set out in the Common Position 2008/843/CFSP, with particular reference to the  (a) sale,  (b) supply,  (c) transfer and  (d) export of arms and related material to that country.

Chris Bryant: Many EU partners took the view that the sanctions against Uzbekistan had served their purpose. The sanctions would have expired by default on 13 November 2009 in the absence of consensus among member states to renew them. We supported the corresponding 2009 Council Conclusions-which maintain the need for progress in Uzbekistan and which contain a review mechanism- achieved that. We hope Uzbekistan will grasp this opportunity to work constructively with the EU and introduce further governance and human rights reforms. The UK stands ready to support that process. I underlined these points in a recent meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Ganiev.
	Arms exports to Uzbekistan will still be controlled by consolidated EU and national arms export licensing criteria. The latter covers the export-including sale, supply and transfer-of military and dual-use rated goods. The EU criteria require an assessment of whether the goods might be used for internal repression.

HEALTH

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many consultant episodes with a primary diagnosis for alcohol-related disease there were in each strategic health authority area  (a) in absolute terms and  (b) as a proportion of the population of the relevant area in each year since 2004-05.

Ann Keen: Information on consultant episodes with a primary alcohol-related diagnosis is only produced for admission episodes, the first episode in a hospital spell. Admission episodes accounted for 87 per cent. of all episodes in 2008-09. The following table gives the number and rate of admission episodes in England of patients with a primary alcohol-related diagnosis.
	
		
			  Number and rate of hospital admissions in England of patients with a primary alcohol-related diagnosis 
			   2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			  Strategic  health authority  Number of admission  Crude rate of admission per 100,000 population  Number of admission  Crude rate of admission per 100,000 population  Number of admission  Crude rate of admission per 100,000 population  Number of admission  Crude rate of admission per 100,000 population  Number of admission  Crude rate of admission per 100,000 population 
			 North East 11,398 448 11,783 462 12,264 480 12,126 473 12,554 487 
			 North West 28,590 417 31,888 464 33,252 483 34,394 499 35,496 516 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 17,261 341 18,684 366 18,851 367 19,725 381 20,129 386 
			 East Midlands 14,819 348 16,332 380 17,130 395 17,151 393 17,506 395 
			 West Midlands 20,357 382 22,321 417 24,742 461 22,490 418 24,372 450 
			 East of England 15,800 287 17,083 307 17,543 313 18,285 323 18,660 326 
			 London 22,664 307 24,830 333 26,232 349 25,913 343 26,689 350 
			 South East Coast 12,323 295 13,136 312 13,915 328 14,563 341 15,015 348 
			 South Central 10,394 264 11,280 284 10,750 269 11,497 285 11,383 280 
			 South West 17,469 346 18,875 371 19,567 381 20,245 391 21,051 404 
			 Unknown/no fixed abode 2,459 n/a 3,219 n/a 3,211 n/a 4,031 n/a 3,500 n/a 
			 England 173,532 346 189,431 375 197,457 389 200,420 392 206,355 401 
			  Notes:  1. Includes activity in English national health service hospitals and English NHS commissioned activity in the independent sector.  2. Alcohol-related admissions  The number of alcohol-related admissions is based on the methodology developed by the North West Public Health Observatory. Figures for under 16s only include admissions where one or more of the following alcohol-specific conditions were listed:  Alcoholic cardiomyopathy (142.6)  Alcoholic gastritis (K29.2)  Alcoholic liver disease (K70)  Alcoholic myopathy (G72.1)  Alcoholic polyneuropathy (G62.1)  Alcohol-induced pseudo-Cushing's syndrome (E24.4)  Chronic pancreatitis (alcohol induced) (K86.0)  Degeneration of nervous system due to alcohol (G31.2)  Mental and behavioural disorders due to use of alcohol (F10)  Accidental poisoning by and exposure to alcohol (X45)  Ethanol poisoning (T51.0)  Methanol poisoning (T51.1)  Toxic effect of alcohol, unspecified (T51.9)  3. Ungrossed data  Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).  4. Finished admission episodes  A finished admission episode is the first period of inpatient care under one consultant within one health care provider. Finished admission episodes are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. It should be noted that admissions do not represent the number of inpatients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.  5. Data quality  Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts in England. Data are also received from a number of independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain.  6. Assessing growth through time  HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. The quality and coverage of the data have improved over time. These improvements in information submitted by the NHS have been particularly marked in the earlier years and need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. Some of the increase in figures for later years (particularly 2006-07 onwards) may be due to the improvement in the coverage of independent sector activity. Changes in NHS practice also need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. For example, a number of procedures may now be undertaken in outpatient settings and may no longer be accounted for in the HES data. This may account for any reductions in activity over time.  7. Assignment of Episodes to Years  Years are assigned by the end of the first period of care in a patient's hospital stay.  8. n/a = not available.  Source:  HES, The Information Centre for health and social care.

Ambulance Services: Greater London

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of blue light emergency cases in the London Borough of Bexley were taken to  (a) Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup,  (b) Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Woolwich and  (c) Darenth Valley Hospital, Dartford, in the last three years for which figures are available.

Mike O'Brien: We do not hold reliable information in the form requested. We have some experimental data but they are poor in quality and unreliable.

Brain Cancer

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment his Department has made of the standard of treatment of acoustic neuromas; what steps his Department is taking to raise the level of public awareness of that condition; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: We have made no assessment of the standard of treatment of acoustic neuromas. The NHS Choices website at:
	www.nhs.uk/conditions/acoustic-neuroma/Pages/Introduction.aspx
	contains detailed information suitable for health professionals and the general public on the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of this rare neurological condition.

Breast Cancer: Screening

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what his most recent estimate is of the  (a) number and  (b) percentage of mammogram scans which are reviewed by (i) one and (ii) two clinicians; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: Information collected for 2007-08 by the Cancer Screening Evaluation Unit showed that over 95 per cent. of mammogram screens were read by two qualified readers. This is the latest period for which information is available. There were 1.7 million women were screened in this period.

Cancer: Health Services

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the level of availability of  (a) dialysis and  (b) cancer services for residents of the London Borough of Bexley.

Ann Keen: Information on the local availability of dialysis and cancer services is not collected centrally.

Chlamydia: Screening

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of young  (a) males under 24 years old and  (b) other people participating in Chlamydia screening.

Gillian Merron: In July 2009 the National Chlamydia Screening Programme (NCSP) published Involving young men in Chlamydia screening; a practical guide aimed at improving access to high quality Chlamydia screening services for young men. The NCSP does monitor and publish on a quarterly basis the number of young male screened in the community.
	On 30 November 2009, the Department and the Department for Children Schools and Families, together with the NCSP launched a new public information campaign to tackle the ongoing need to increase knowledge around sexual health, including Chlamydia screening, amongst young men and women.
	In January 2010 the Department will be introducing a Chlamydia specific strand to this campaign to raise awareness of the National Chlamydia Screening Programme and to encourage people to accept a test when offered.

Departmental Information Officers

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many full-time equivalent press officers  (a) are employed by and  (b) work for his Department.

Phil Hope: As of 1 April 2009 the media centre employed 33 full-time and two part-time press officers, making a total of 34.2 full-time equivalent press officers. This figure includes four full-time members of staff who joined the media centre from NHS Connecting for Health following the merger of the media relations functions of the two organisations in April 2009.

Departmental Travel

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what date he last travelled by  (a) bus and  (b) taxi in the course of his official duties.

Phil Hope: The information requested is not held by the Department.

Doctors: Working Hours

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations he has received from the Royal College of Surgeons on the European Working Time Directive.

Ann Keen: We are in monthly contact with the Royal College of Surgeons (RCS), the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges meetings, the National European Working Time Directive Reference Group and the Medical Education England Programme Board of which RCS is a member. There are also other meetings. The RCS recently published their college policy document.

Doctors: Working Hours

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what account he took of representations from the Royal College of Surgeons on the European Working Time Directive before the implementation of that Directive; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: Before 1 August 2009 we had been in regular contact with Royal College of Surgeons (RCS), the Academy of Royal Colleges and the National European Working Time Directive (EWTD) Reference Group of which RCS is a member. There have also been meetings between RCS and the Departments National Clinical Advisor for EWTD and other officials.

Heart Diseases: Children

David Cameron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he expects to receive the report of the National Specialised Commissioning Group on children's cardiac surgery services in England; what considerations he is taking into account in respect of proposed reconfiguration of these services; and what research he has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the level of specialisation required for children's heart surgery in the last three years.

Ann Keen: The National Specialised Commissioning Group (NSCG) will publish recommendations on children's cardiac surgery services in England in September 2010. The considerations that will be taken into account by the NSCG are for children's heart surgery services and critical inter-dependent services to be high quality, safe, sustainable and accessible, with as many of the non-interventional elements of care being provided locally as is safe and sustainable.
	The Department has not commissioned or evaluated research on the level of specialisation required for children's heart surgery but the NSCG will publish the evidence on which recommendations for reconfiguration are based in September 2010.

Herbal Medicine: Regulation

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will bring forward proposals to introduce statutory regulation of herbal medicine and herbal medicine practitioners.

Ann Keen: The Department has recently undertaken a consultation exercise on whether acupuncture, herbal medicine and traditional Chinese medicine practitioners should be regulated and if so how. Due to the overwhelming number of responses received it is likely to be the spring before the analysis is complete and a decision can be made on the way forward.
	The regulation of herbal medicinal products is covered by provisions of European and United Kingdom legislation.

Internet: Health Hazards

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent studies his Department has carried out on the effect of wi-fi on the health of  (a) people who are electro-sensitive and  (b) others.

Gillian Merron: The Health Protection Agency (HPA) advises the Government in relation to the protection of communities from radiation hazards, including those associated with exposure to non-ionising radiation such as the radio waves from wireless communication systems. The HPA has concluded that there is no consistent evidence to date that exposure to radio waves from wireless networks adversely affects the health of the general population and that there is no reason why schools and others should not use wi-fi equipment. The HPA also keeps the situation under review.
	The HPA has reviewed technical standards and wireless equipment used in United Kingdom schools, and performed laboratory measurements with examples of typical equipment. The results are consistent with the position that exposures to the radio waves from Wi-Fi equipment are not expected to exceed internationally-accepted guidelines and that they are less than from mobile telephones. Further measurements in school classrooms are planned, as are computer modelling studies. Information about these studies is available on the HPA website at:
	www.hpa.org.uk/HPA/Topics/Radiation/UnderstandingRadiation/1199451940308/
	The Department of Health has not commissioned or undertaken any studies specifically on the effect of wi-fi on the health of people who are reportedly electrosensitive. The independently managed Mobile Telecommunications and Health Research (MTHR) programme, jointly funded by Government and industry, has investigated whether electrical hypersensitivity symptoms result from exposure to radiofrequency fields emitted by mobile telephones. In its 2007 report the MTHR Programme Management Committee concluded that the MTHR research results, taken together with earlier evidence, offered no support for this hypothesis. The MTHR report is available at:
	www.mthr.org.uk/

Maternity Services: Bexley

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for the future of maternity services for residents in the London Borough of Bexley; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: This is a matter for the local national health service.

Mentally Ill: Children

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the incidence of mental illness amongst children in each of the last 12 years; and what recent assessment he has made of  (a) trends in that incidence and  (b) contributing factors to mental illness in children.

Phil Hope: This Department has not made its own estimates of the level of mental illness among children in each of the last 12 years. It commissioned the Office of National Statistics to carry out surveys in 1999 and 2004 on the mental health of children and young people in Great Britain. The 2004 survey found that nearly one in 10 children aged five to 16 had a clinically diagnosable mental disorder. The 1999 survey, which covered children aged five to 15, produced a similar result. Earlier surveys have shown that the proportion of young people with hyperactive or emotional problems increased significantly between 1974 and 1999 but this increase may not reflect and increase in incidence, but rather greater awareness of conditions. No recent assessments have been carried out on trends because of the difficulty in identifying the extent to which other factors, such as greater awareness of conditions, have contributed to changes in incidence.
	A three-year study by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), commissioned by the Department and the Scottish Executive, Three Years On: A survey of the emotional development and wellbeing of children and young people published in October 2008 tracked the emotional wellbeing of a sample of children and young people between 2004 and 2007 and reviewed the factors likely to be associated with the onset or persistence of mental disorders. The report is downloadable from the ONS website.
	An independent CAMHS Review, commissioned by Ministers, reported in November 2008 setting out 20 recommendations to improve children and young people's mental health and psychological wellbeing. The full Government response to the CAMHS Review is to be published soon.

Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the oral answer of 13 October 2009,  Official Report, column 135W, on Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust, and pursuant to the oral answer of 24 November 2009,  Official Report, columns 386-87, on parking charges (offsetting), what steps he plans to take to ensure that the programme to bring Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust back into surplus is not undertaken at the expense of staff, with particular reference to the level of car parking charges paid by staff of that trust.

Mike O'Brien: This is a matter for Mid Essex Hospitals Services NHS Trust. We are advised that the trust is forecasting a surplus for the 2009-10 financial year and it is working to phase out car parking charges for in-patients.
	The Department's existing guidance will be reissued to ensure that all organisations providing services to national health service patients are clear about the expectations. Early next year, we will issue revised concession guidance and examples of best practice.
	The Department works through the strategic health authorities to ensure that all the organisations forecasting an operating deficit are developing recovery plans to return to financial balance while maintaining and improving services to patients. All trusts must ensure that any profit generated from car parking is used to improve health services in the NHS trust.

MRSA: Screening

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what progress has been made towards meeting his Department's 2011 deadline for the screening of non-elective patients for MRSA;
	(2)  how many primary care trusts have started to screen non-elective patients for MRSA in advance of his Department's 2011 deadline for such screening.

Ann Keen: This information is not collected centrally. It is the responsibility of primary care trust commissioners of national health service services to put in place processes for assuring themselves that trusts are meeting this commitment.

NHS: Finance

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department issues to NHS hospital trusts on budget deficits and safeguarding services.

Mike O'Brien: The Department has made it clear in its guidance to the national health service that proposed changes to NHS services will always be to the benefit of patients and be locally led by clinicians and based on the best available clinical evidence.
	In addition, the local NHS will involve patients, carers, the public and other key partners. Those affected by proposed changes will have the chance to have their say and offer their contribution. NHS organisations will work openly and collaboratively.
	The Department works through the strategic health authorities to ensure that all the organisations forecasting an operating deficit are developing recovery plans to return to financial balance while maintaining and improving services to patients.

NHS: Finance

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many primary care trusts had a  (a) budget surplus,  (b) budget deficit and (c) balanced budget in each of the last three years.

Mike O'Brien: Figures taken from the published NHS (England) Summarised Accounts for 2008-09, 2007-08 and 2006-07 show the following distribution of financial performance.
	
		
			   Number of primary care trusts (PCTs) in surplus  Number of PCTs in deficit  Number of PCTs with break-even position 
			 2008-09 151 1 0 
			 2007-08 146 4 2 
			 2006-07 109 42 1

Nurses: Women's Prisons

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses at each grade are employed in female prisons.

Ann Keen: This category of nursing is not identified separately in the National Health Service Workforce Census. The National Offenders Management Service, part of the Ministry of Justice, would hold such information.

Nursing: Training

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent discussions he has had with the National Union of Students on nursing degrees; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what recent discussions he has had with student bodies other than the National Union of Students on nursing degrees.

Ann Keen: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State has had no recent discussions with the National Union of Students on nursing degrees.
	The Nursing and Midwifery Council, following wide consultation, announced in September 2008 the principle that there would be a future requirement that the minimum academic level to register as a nurse, for those who train in the United Kingdom, would be a nursing degree.
	We strongly support this principle. Following a period of stakeholder engagement, including with the Royal College of Nursing and Unison who both have student nurse membership, we announced on 12 November 2009 that all new nurse pre-registration education programmes in England will become degree-level by 2013.

Organs: Donors

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to his Department's press release of 31 July 2009, on the rules on organ transplants to NHS patients and non-UK EU residents, what his most recent assessment is of progress in the banning of private clinical practices in the UK from using solid organs from live donors  (a) within and  (b) outside the NHS.

Ann Keen: The Buggins report on the allocation of organs to non UK residents deals only with donations from deceased donors.
	We continue to consider the implications for each of the recommendations in the report and have established an implementation group consisting of representatives from the transplant community, NHS blood and transplant, commissioners and others to consider each recommendation and to advise on implementation. The group has met on three occasions, most recently on 23 November. Good progress has been made in this complex area and officials hope to put implementation proposals to their respective Ministers shortly.

Sickle Cell Diseases

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assistance his Department provides to schools in respect of education on sickle cell anaemia.

Ann Keen: The main health contact for schools is likely to be a school nurse. The school health service can provide guidance on medical conditions, including sickle cell anaemia; help schools draw up individual health care plans for pupils with medical needs; supplement and augment information provided by parents and the child's general practitioner; and advise on training for school staff in administering medicines and in taking responsibility for other aspects of support.

Sickle Cell Diseases

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on raising the level of public awareness of sickle cell disorders in each year since 1997.

Ann Keen: The Department has funded the NHS Sickle Cell and Thalassaemia Screening programme to develop materials for public information (including information on screening, carrier status and a parents' handbook on children with sickle cell disease) and to undertake a number of public outreach projects in areas where there is a high proportion of black and minority ethnic populations who may have difficulties accessing health care services. For the four years, 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08 and 2008-09, the programme spent a total of more than £2 million. No figures before this are available.
	In addition, the Department awarded the Sickle Cell Society a Section 64 grant of £20,000 over two years (2003-04 and 2004-05) for health education. A Third Sector Investment programme project grant of some £258,000 has recently been awarded to the Sickle Cell Society for three years (2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12) for a named National Support Care Advisor for sickle cell disorders.

Sickle Cell Diseases

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent on services for those with sickle cell anaemia in each year since 1997.

Ann Keen: This information is not held centrally.

Sickle Cell Diseases

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of sickle cell anaemia have been diagnosed in each year since 1997.

Ann Keen: This information is not held centrally.

Skin Piercing: Young People

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  which London boroughs have implemented rules prohibiting ear and body piercing for those under the age of 18 years without parental consent;
	(2)  what powers local authorities have in respect of the regulation of ear and body piercing for those under the age of 18 years without parental consent; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: Local authorities have no specific powers to regulate ear or body piercing of those under the age of 18 years. Ear and body piercing for cosmetic purposes are lawful and there is no statutory minimum age of consent. Minors are able to give valid consent if they are capable of understanding the nature of the act to be done.
	Local authorities have powers, under the Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982, to require that businesses offering ear or body piercing are registered with their local authority and observe local byelaws relating to the hygiene of premises, operators and equipment. Local authorities are also responsible for enforcing health and safety at work legislation for such businesses.
	The Department does not hold the information requested on the implementation of the London Local Authorities Act 1991 by London local authorities.

South London Healthcare NHS Trust: Standards

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the performance of South London Healthcare NHS Trust.

Mike O'Brien: Under the NHS Performance Framework there are four domains against which trusts are assessed; National Standards and Targets, Finance, Quality and Safety and User Experience. Overall, South London Healthcare NHS Trust has been assessed as 'Underperforming' for Quarter 1 of 2009-10. However, for the category National Standards and Targets, which covers key areas of service performance, it is assessed as 'Performing'.

Stress: Children

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children aged  (a) between five and seven,  (b) between seven and 11,  (c) between 11 and 14 years old have been seen by a medical professional owing to stress-related conditions in each month of the last three years.

Ann Keen: That information is not available.

Strokes: Bexley

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for the future of stroke services for residents in the London Borough of Bexley; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: Information on local plans for stroke services is not collected centrally.

Surgery: Bexley

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has for the future of elective surgery for residents in the London Borough of Bexley; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: This is a matter for the local national health service.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Animal Experiments

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many breaches in  (a) project and  (b) personal licences occurred at Wickham Laboratories between 2003 and 2008; and if he will provide details in each case.

Meg Hillier: For security reasons it is not Home Office policy to disclose the compliance record of individual establishments licensed under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986.

Arrest Warrants

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many European arrest warrants have been issued for arresting and bringing to the UK a suspect from each other EU country in each of the last five years.

Alan Johnson: holding answer 26 November 2009
	The figures for the number of EAWs issued by UK prosecuting authorities and transmitted by the Serious Organised Crime Agency is as follows:
	
		
			   EAWs Issued  Persons extradited to the UK under the EAW 
			 2004 96 19 
			 2005 131 63 
			 2006 126 76 
			 2007 198 99 
			 2008 218 96 
		
	
	It is not possible from current systems to provide data broken down into the number of EAWs issued by the UK to each member state. This would require a manual examination of all files and incur disproportionate cost.

Asylum

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his policy is on allowing asylum seekers to work if they have been waiting longer than six months for a full resolution of an asylum claim.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 30 November 2009
	It is not the Government's policy to allow asylum seekers to work. The only exception is asylum seekers who have been waiting 12 months for a decision where this delay cannot be attributed to them. Allowing asylum seekers to work in these circumstances is in accordance with the EC Directive on the reception of asylum seekers.

Crimes of Violence: Females

Jessica Morden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consultation was undertaken in Wales as part of his Department's consultation on violence against women.

Alan Campbell: The cross-Government consultation Together We Can End Violence Against Women and Girls was co-ordinated by the Home Office. Officials at the Home Office liaised with key stakeholders from Wales including officials from the Welsh Assembly Government. Wales has its own domestic abuse strategy and will consider the way it responds to all forms of violence against women.

Criminal Records Bureau: Contracts

Paul Keetch: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what reasons the processing of Criminal Records Bureau checks was tendered to the private sector; when the contract with Capita for processing Criminal Records Bureau checks will next be reviewed; and what arrangements have been put in place to ensure that Capita processes such checks in a timely manner.

Meg Hillier: The Disclosure Service operates as a contract between the Criminal Records Bureau and Capita Business Services based upon a public-private partnership agreement. Under this agreement, Capita is required to perform contractually specified services and to develop, deliver and maintain the technical infrastructure of the Disclosure Service. A contract schedule sets out the service levels for Capita to meet. The current contract expires in 2012.
	The decision to tender to the private sector was made following a detailed options analysis. Five options were initially assessed and these were then reduced to two-Contract Crown/private entity for design, build and operation of CRB against a traditional Crown agency. Assessments based on investment appraisal, financial risk, technical/operational risk, performance management, skills and capability and implementation time concluded that a public-private partnership (PPP) approach was the most beneficial option against these criteria.

Drugs

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many farms are licensed to grow opium; how many hectares each licence covers; and how many companies are licensed to harvest the crop.

Alan Campbell: A Home Office licence is not required to grow or harvest opium poppy (papaver somniferum). A licence is only required when the opium poppy is processed in any way.

Drugs

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the proportion of  (a) acquisitive and  (b) sex work-related crime committed which was motivated by the need to raise money to purchase illegal drugs in the latest period for which figures are available.

Alan Campbell: The Home Office does not routinely estimate the proportion of acquisitive crime or sex work committed which was motivated by the need to raise money for illegal drugs. Drug use, offending, and sex work are often covert activities and the relationship between them can be complex, thus such estimates are likely to be subject to large uncertainties.
	The Department has previously commissioned research that shows proportions of drug treatment seekers and police arrestees who have reportedly committed acquisitive crime in order to buy drugs:
	Nearly a quarter (22 per cent.) of a nationally representative sample of drug treatment seekers reported offending in order to buy drugs in the four weeks before interview.
	 Source:
	Home Office Research Report 3
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs07/horr03c.pdf
	12 per cent. of a sample of arrestees said that they had committed crime in order to buy or get hold of drugs. This was much more likely among those who took heroin or crack cocaine once a week, 50 per cent. of whom had committed crime to get drugs compared to 4 per cent. of those who did not take heroin/crack weekly
	 Source:
	Home Office Statistical Bulletin 12/07
	http://rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs07/hosb1207.pdf
	There are a number of research studies that have shown that prostitution, especially street based prostitution, is linked to illegal drug misuse. A Home Office evaluation of five projects that aimed to provide support to help women involved in street prostitution to exit, indicated that around nine out of 10 women involved in street based prostitution used drugs, although the findings do not indicate whether the sex work was motivated by the desire to buy drugs
	 Source:
	Home Office Research Study 290
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/hors290.pdf

Immigration Controls

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell of 5 November 2009,  Official Report, column 1138W, on immigrations controls, how many sponsorship licences have been granted to  (a) employers and  (b) educational institutions since the inception of the points-based system.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 30 November 2009
	 The number of sponsor licences that have been granted to employers since the inception of the points-based system to 27 November 2009 is 13,475.
	The number of sponsor licences that have been granted to educational institutions since the inception of the points-based system to 27 November 2009 is 3,065.
	Figures for educational institutions are for those sponsors who have specified Education as the industry sector that best explains their organisation's main economic activity, irrespective of PBS tier.
	The figures quoted are not provided under National Statistics protocols and have been derived from local management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change.

Surveillance

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for the use of covert human intelligence sources by  (a) police forces in England and Wales,  (b) the Security Service,  (c) the Secret Intelligence Service,  (d) GCHQ,  (e) the National Criminal Intelligence Service,  (f) the National Crime Squad and  (g) the Serious Fraud Office have been refused by his Department under section 29(7) of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 in each year since 2000.

David Hanson: Applications for the use of covert human intelligence sources are not submitted to the Home Office. The authorities responsible for authorising the use of covert human intelligence sources under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 ('RIPA')-including the Serious Organised Crime Agency which replaced the National Criminal Intelligence Service and National Crime Squad in 2005-are listed in Schedule 1 to that Act as amended by statutory instruments 2003 No.3171, 2005 No. 1084 and 2006 No. 1874. The Home Office will shortly bring forward a new statutory instrument to consolidate these earlier instruments.
	RIPA vests statutory oversight of such authorisations with the independent Office of Surveillance Commissioners and the Intelligence Services Commissioner. The Chief Surveillance Commissioner publishes annual reports on his findings, copies of which are in the House Library, but the figures provided in the reports relate only to applications granted. The figures are reproduced as follows:
	
		
			  Use of covert human intelligence sources authorised under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 
			   2000- 01  2001- 02  2002- 03  2003- 04  2004- 05  2005- 06  2006- 07  2007- 08  2008 - 09 
			 By law enforcement (1)- 5,400 5,900 5,907 4,980 4,559 4,373 4,498 4,278 
			 By other authorities (1)- (1)- (1)- 273 308 437 429 204 234 
			 (1) Not given

Surveillance

Patrick Mercer: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many covert human intelligence sources have been recruited by  (a) police forces in England and Wales,  (b) the security services,  (c) the National Criminal Intelligence Service and  (d) the National Crime Squad in each year since 2000.

David Hanson: The Home Office does not collect such figures. RIPA vests statutory oversight of CHIS authorisations with the independent Office of Surveillance Commissioners and the Intelligence Services Commissioner. The Chief Surveillance Commissioner publishes annual reports on his findings, copies of which are in the House Library, which include statistics on the number of CHIS authorisations granted, but do not provide a breakdown of how many CHIS are recruited by each public authority. No such statistics are provided for the activities of the Security and Intelligence agencies.

Vetting: Waiting Lists

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many applications for Criminal Record Bureau checks that were in progress on 30 September of each year since 2006 had been made  (a) less than one month previously,  (b) between one and three months previously,  (c) between three and six months previously and  (d) over six months previously.

Alan Johnson: holding answer 1 December 2009
	Data are not held in the format requested. The following table provides the details of applications in progress for less than eight weeks, more than eight weeks and the total amount of outstanding applications on 30 September in the last four years.
	
		
			   Checks outstanding for 
			  Month  e nding  30 September each year  Less than eight weeks  More than eight weeks  Total outstanding 
			 2009 238,118 27,905 266,023 
			 2008 220,714 53,904 274,618 
			 2007 120,297 21,734 142,031 
			 2006 176,450 36,680 213,130

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Aid: EU Institutions

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department's aid funding distributed through EU institutions; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: Analysis from the OECD's donor assistance committee, Oxfam, the House of Lords and our own staff indicate that the effectiveness of Commission aid has improved considerably.

Aid Projects: Gaza

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much and what proportion of Government funding available for humanitarian assistance to Gaza in the last three years has been disbursed to aid projects in that area.

Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development responded swiftly to the humanitarian crisis following Operation Cast Lead, pledging £26.8 million for immediate humanitarian aid and early recovery activities. Of this, £18.3 million has already been spent. Prior to the conflict, we had given the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) £3 million to meet immediate humanitarian needs in Gaza-£1 million in 2007 and £2 million in 2008.

Afghanistan

Andrew MacKay: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department's activities in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development's latest Afghanistan Country Programme Evaluation was published in May 2009.
	http://www.dfid.gov.uk/Where-we-work/Asia-South/Afghanistan/

South Waziristan

Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance his Department has provided to those displaced by recent violence in South Waziristan.

Michael Foster: We have made available £2 million to help meet immediate needs of those newly displaced by conflict in South Waziristan. Funds are being used by NGOs to support shelter, water, sanitation and medical services. This new funding commitment brings the UK contribution for the displaced in North Western Frontier Province (NWFP) and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) to £34 million. We will continue to monitor the situation carefully and stand ready to provide further support.

HIV/AIDS

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent steps his Department has taken to advance the Government's strategy for  (a) halting and  (b) reversing the spread of HIV and AIDS in middle-income countries.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) works with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in these countries, helping to ensure policies address inequality and challenge stigma and discrimination. Marginalised groups are often most affected.
	The long-term costs of treatment place a huge burden on these countries. DFID and partners are helping to reduce prices and for the first time a second-line regimen is available for under $500 annually.

Sri Lanka

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of his Department's activities in Sri Lanka; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Foster: I visited Sri Lanka in October to see for myself the situation on the ground and the Department for International Development's (DFID's) contribution to the humanitarian efforts. Next year it is expected that an independent evaluation of all DFID's work in Sri Lanka will be undertaken.

Capita

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether any contracts between Capita Group plc and his Department have been cancelled before completion since 1997; and whether Capita Group plc has been liable for any penalties arising from failings in the administration of contracts since 1997.

Michael Foster: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer given on 13 February 2003,  Official Report, column 921W, which provided a list of contracts awarded to Capita Group plc. These contracts did not incur penalty charges and were not cancelled before completion. No further contracts have been awarded to Capita Group plc.

Capita

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development on how many occasions Capita Group plc tendered for contracts let by his Department in each of the last five years; how many such tenders were successful; how much his Department paid to Capita Group plc for the execution of contracts in each such year; how many contracts which terminate after 2010 Capita Group plc hold with his Department; and what the monetary value is of all outstanding contracts between his Department and Capita Group plc.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development has no record of receiving tenders from Capita Group plc in the last five years.

Departmental Contracts

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what criteria his Department uses in determining the award of contracts; and how much his Department has spent on the advertisement of tenders for Government contracts since 1997.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) applies the European Union Public Procurement Directives determining the award of contracts. This requires the evaluation criteria to be specified in advertisements, and the award of business on the basis of most economically advantageous tender, taking account of technical and commercial aspects.
	The cost of advertising tenders cannot be isolated from other advertising costs without incurring disproportionate cost.

Departmental Pay

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department has allocated for  (a) year end and  (b) in-year bonuses in 2009-10.

Douglas Alexander: The salary budget for 2009-10 is £104 million of which non-consolidated performance payments represented an estimated 1.27 per cent.(1)
	Awards are intended to reward delivery of personal business objectives during the reporting year or other short term personal contributions to wider organisational objectives and values.
	Awards are funding within existing pay bill controls, have to be re-earned each year against the predetermined criteria above and as such do not add to future pay bill costs.
	(1 )Payments made are for the financial year indicated but relate to performance achieved in the previous reporting year.

Departmental Plants

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department spent on pot plants in  (a) 2008 and  (b) 2009.

Douglas Alexander: The Department for International Development has not purchased any pot plants in either 2008 or 2009.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what the cost to his Department was of provision of office facilities to (a) special advisers and  (b) press officers in the 2008-09 financial year.

Douglas Alexander: Special advisers and press officers are located in the Department for International Development head office at 1 Palace street. It is not possible to disaggregate the cost.

Departmental Taxis

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many miles  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials in his Department have travelled by taxi in the course of their official duties in each year since 1997; and at what cost to the public purse in each such year.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) does not hold a central record of mileage travelled by taxi or expenditure on taxi charges. Compiling this information would incur disproportionate cost.

Developing Countries: Disabled

Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what steps his Department is taking to include children with disabilities in the programme established to achieve the Millennium Development Goal on schooling;
	(2)  whether he expects the Millennium Development Goal on schooling to be achieved in circumstances in which specific provision to meet the needs of children with disabilities is not made in the programme of work towards achievement of that goal.

Michael Foster: The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) cannot be achieved without addressing the specific needs and rights of people with disabilities. All children, including those with disabilities must have equal access to a good quality basic education. It is estimated that 90 per cent. of children with disabilities in developing countries are out of school.
	The UK is spending £8.5 billion over the period 2006-07-2015-16 in support of education in developing countries. Alongside funding from other donors, these resources are used to support governments to ensure all children have access to basic education-including the children with disabilities. DFID is the second largest donor (£202 million) to the global financing partnership for education, the Education for All- Fast Track Initiative (FTI). We use our support to the FTI to leverage greater attention from partner governments to the needs of the most excluded children. DFID also directly supports Disability Partner Organisations (DPOs) in countries where we work to advocate for the rights for adults and children with disabilities. This is in recognition that social stigma and discrimination remain the main barriers for children with disabilities to attend school.
	DFID's new education strategy will be launched early next year and will set out how we propose to implement our commitment to basic education for all children including those with disabilities.

Immobilisation of Vehicles

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much his Department has paid in vehicle clamping charges incurred on  (a) privately-owned and  (b) publicly-owned land in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) does not hold a central record of expenditure on vehicle clamping charges. Compiling this information would incur disproportionate cost.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Police

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many police officers currently assigned to uniformed response policing duties in each district command unit were so assigned immediately following an assignment to administrative duties observing normal office hours.

Paul Goggins: That is an operational matter for the Chief Constable. I have asked him to reply directly to the hon. Member, and a copy of his letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Prisons: Mobile Phones

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he 
	(1)  plans to introduce measures to block mobile phone signals in prisons and detention centres in Northern Ireland;
	(2)  has estimated the cost to the public purse of blocking mobile telephone signals in prison facilities in Northern Ireland.

Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS) is liaising closely with HMPS who are trialling signal blocking equipment in a number of establishments in Great Britain and working with the Home Office Scientific Development Branch and Ofcom to evaluate the technology available. While Ministers are determined to reduce the use of mobile phones in prisons, until the conclusions of the current evaluations and the identification of a preferred option, it is not possible to decide whether such technology will be installed in NIPS. It is also not possible to estimate the likely costs involved at this stage.

OLYMPICS

Departmental Domestic Visits

David Simpson: To ask the Minister for the Olympics on how many occasions she visited  (a) Scotland,  (b) Wales and  (c) Northern Ireland in an official capacity in the last 12 months.

Tessa Jowell: In the last 12 months I have visited Scotland and Wales on one occasion each. I have not made an official visit to Northern Ireland during the last 12 months.

KBR

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Minister for the Olympics whether the Government Olympic Executive has entered into any contracts with Kellogg, Brown and Root or its subsidiaries since January 2009.

Tessa Jowell: The Government Olympic Executive has not entered into contracts with Kellogg, Brown and Root or its subsidiaries but the Olympic Delivery Authority has procured transport services from Kellogg, Brown and Root since January 2009 under the terms of a framework agreement.

Olympic Games 2012: Contracts

Hywel Williams: To ask the Minister for the Olympics how many tenders have been submitted for Olympic contracts from firms based in  (a) Wales,  (b) Scotland,  (c) Northern Ireland,  (d) England and  (e) other countries.

Tessa Jowell: I have referred this question to the Olympic Delivery Authority. I will write to the hon. Member when I have received a reply, and I will place a copy of my reply in the Libraries of both Houses.

PRIME MINISTER

Angad Paul

Graham Stuart: To ask the Prime Minister whether  (a) he and his predecessor and  (b) officials in the Prime Minister's Office have had meetings with Angad Paul in each of the last three years.

Gordon Brown: My officials and I have meetings with a wide range of organisations and individuals on a range of subjects.

Departmental Domestic Visits

David Simpson: To ask the Prime Minister on how many occasions he visited  (a) Scotland,  (b) Wales and  (c) Northern Ireland in an official capacity in the last 12 months.

Gordon Brown: For information for 2008-09 I refer the hon. Member to my written ministerial statement of 16 July 2009,  Official Report, column 76WS. A list of my UK visits for 2009-10 will be published in the usual way following the end of the financial year.

Departmental Travel

Norman Baker: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  how many miles  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials in his Office have travelled by taxi in the course of their official duties in each year since 1997; and at what cost to the public purse in each such year;
	(2)  on what date he last travelled by  (a) bus and  (b) taxi in the course of his official duties.

Gordon Brown: This information is not held in the format requested. Ministers, my officials and I travel making the most efficient and cost-effective arrangements. My travel arrangements are in accordance with the arrangements for official travel set out in chapter 10 of the Ministerial Code, and the accompanying guidance document, Travel by Ministers.

Meetings: Oil Companies

Ben Wallace: To ask the Prime Minister 
	(1)  on what dates  (a) he,  (b) his predecessor and  (c) officials of the Prime Minister's Office met executives of BP plc in each year since 2002;
	(2)  on what dates  (a) he,  (b) his predecessor and  (c) officials of the Prime Minister's Office have met Royal Dutch Shell executives in each year since 2002;

Gordon Brown: My predecessor and I, and officials in my office, have regular meetings with a wide range of individuals and organisations.

Ministerial Policy Advisers

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Prime Minister which special advisers have visited Chequers since 2006; and on what dates.

Gordon Brown: A list of guests who have received official hospitality at Chequers is published on an annual basis and is available in the Library of the House. Information for the financial year 2009-10 will be published in the usual way.

SCOTLAND

Departmental Public Expenditure

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what the cost to his Department was of provision of office facilities to  (a) special advisers and  (b) press officers in the 2008-09 financial year.

Ann McKechin: A breakdown of the cost of office facilities is not available in the form requested.

Departmental Security

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how many security passes his Department has issued to contractors providing consultancy services in the last 12 months.

Ann McKechin: One security pass was issued to a contractor providing consultancy services in the last 12 months. The pass was returned at the end of the contract.

TRANSPORT

Automatic Number Plate Recognition

Greg Knight: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many automatic number plate recognition cameras are in operation other than on the public highway; and what the  (a) location and  (b) purpose is of each.

Paul Clark: The Department for Transport has no automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras permanently located in off road locations.
	The Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency's wheel clamping contractors, NSL Services Ltd, uses a fleet of 35 mobile wheel clamping units equipped with ANPR technology to help detect unlicensed vehicles. These units operate on and off the public road.

Cars: Carbon Emissions

Charles Hendry: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many and what proportion of cars sold in the UK had carbon dioxide emissions levels of 100 grammes per kilometre or less in  (a) each of the last five years and  (b) 2009 to date.

Sadiq Khan: Data on carbon dioxide emissions per km (gCO2/km) from new cars sold in the UK are only available up to the year 2008. These data are published on the Department for Transport's website at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pqr/statistics/datatablespublications/vehicles/licensing
	A total of 3,592 cars with CO2 emissions under 100gCO2/km were sold from 2004-08. By year this breaks down as follows:
	
		
			   Number of new cars sold with CO 2  emissions of 100g/km  Number as percentage of total new car sales 
			 2004 20 0.001 
			 2005 16 0.001 
			 2006 9 0.001 
			 2007 52 0.002 
			 2008 3,495 0.17

Departmental Disclosure of Information

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many allegations of victimisation for whistleblowing have been made to his Department by its staff since 6 June 2006.

Chris Mole: There have been fewer than five allegations of victimisation for whistleblowing reported by departmental staff since 6 June 2006.
	Where figures are fewer than five, it is the Department for Transport's policy to withhold details on grounds of individual confidentiality.
	Civil servants are required to act in accordance with the standards and core values set out in the Civil Service Code. The Civil Service Code also provides for civil servants to raise matters of concern with the independent Civil Service Commissioners if they do not receive what they consider to be a reasonable response following departmental internal procedures. The Commissioners will also consider taking a complaint direct. Further guidance on whistleblowing is set out in the Civil Service Management Code and the Directory of Civil Service Guidance.

Departmental Domestic Visits

David Simpson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport on how many occasions he visited  (a) Scotland,  (b) Wales and  (c) Northern Ireland in an official capacity in the last 12 months.

Chris Mole: The Minister of State has visited Wales once in his official capacity in the last 12 months, as part of the Regional Cabinet in Cardiff. His predecessor also visited Scotland. There have been no visits to Northern Ireland during the same period. All ministerial travel is undertaken in accordance with the Ministerial Code.

Departmental Expenditure

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what the cost to his Department was of the provision of office facilities to  (a) special advisers and  (b) press officers in the 2008-09 financial year.

Chris Mole: The requested information is not recorded in the format requested.

Departmental Internet

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what the cost was of maintaining his Department's website in the 2008-09 financial year; and what the forecast cost is of maintaining websites within his responsibility in the 2009-10 financial year.

Chris Mole: Tables have been placed in the Libraries of the House showing operating/maintenance costs for 2008-09 and forecast operating/maintenance costs for the Department for Transport websites for 2009-10.
	Where annual operating/maintenance costs are not available this is due to a number of reasons; either the costs are part of a much larger contract and cannot be itemised; or the costs cannot be calculated without incurring disproportionate costs. Costs provided do not include staff costs.

Departmental Meetings

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport which  (a) individuals other than ministerial colleagues and officials of his Department and  (b) organisations he met in an official capacity in the week commencing 9 November 2009.

Chris Mole: In its response to a Report by the Public Administration Select Committee Lobbying: Access and influence in Whitehall, the Government agreed to publish online, on a quarterly basis, information about ministerial meetings with outside interest groups. Information for the period 1 October to 31 December 2009 will be published by Departments as soon as the information is ready.

Departmental Official Cars

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what estimate he has made of the cost to his Department of providing official cars for the use of  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials in the last 12 months.

Paul Clark: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement I made on 16 July 2009,  Official Report, columns 79-80WS about the contracted cost of ministerial cars in 2008-09. The cost of providing official cars for senior officials for the same period is as follows:
	
		
			  Department  2008-09 charge (£) 
			 BERR 71,600 
			 Cabinet Office 132,000 
			 DECC 34,600 
			 DCSF 69,300 
			 DFID 67,300 
			 DFT 71,400 
			 DWP 26,100 
			 Health 144,000 
			 Home Office 65,900 
			 HMIC 128,000 
			 HMT 67,100 
			 OST 66,900

Departmental Recruitment

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what proportion of jobs advertised by his Department in the last 12 months were online only applications; and what provision his Department makes for those wishing to apply for jobs in his Department who do not have access to the internet.

Chris Mole: One of the Agencies within the Department for Transport uses online only job applications in its external recruitment processes. 27 per cent. of the jobs advertised externally by the Department in the last 12 months were online only applications.
	The Department includes telephone contact details in job adverts and application packs can be issued in alternative formats for anyone who does not have access to the internet. Applicants who may have difficulty in applying for jobs online can also be helped to identify where they can access the internet e.g. libraries or internet cafes. Alternatively they can provide paper applications on request.

Electric Vehicles

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how much his Department spent on electric car charging points in the last five years.

Sadiq Khan: On 19 November 2009 the Secretary of State for Transport launched the Plugged in Places scheme which is making available up to £30 million to support a small number of lead cities and regions in rolling out electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Bids for this funding are due to be received next year.
	In addition, the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Grant Programme (AFIGP) launched in 2005 has to date delivered 82 charging points with Government support totalling £172,347. On 19 November 2009, the Department for Transport announced the next tranche of funding through this programme and that a further 72 charge points are due for completion by spring 2010 with Government support of £228,500.

London Airports

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport with reference to the answer of 9 November 2009,  Official Report, column 49W, if he will publish the submission to the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, the hon. Member for Gillingham (Paul Clark) setting out  (a) the (i) reasons and (ii) justifications for not providing the information requested in question 298409 and  (b) the estimated cost of providing the information requested, as required in accordance with section 7.28 of the Cabinet Office's Guide to Parliamentary Work.

Paul Clark: The request in question 298409 was about representations received from hon. and right hon. Members of each party in favour of  (a) a third runway at Heathrow airport, (b) a second runway at Gatwick airport,  (c) further expansion of Stansted airport and  (d) a new airport in the Thames estuary. No time period was specified. As my 9 November answer explained, no such records are held centrally. To seek to obtain the information would therefore require an exhaustive search of both electronic and paper records across the Department for Transport at least as far back as 2002 when options for airport development were consulted upon. Such an exercise would well exceed the £750 threshold in Cabinet Office guidance for written questions.

Lorries

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of miles heavy goods vehicles over 12 tonnes registered in  (a) the UK and  (b) overseas travelled on roads in the UK in each year since 1997.

Paul Clark: The table shows the estimated distance travelled in the UK by UK-registered heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) weighing over 12 tonnes. Figures for foreign-registered HGVs are not available.
	
		
			   Billion miles travelled 
			 2008 11.1 
			 2007 11.7 
			 2006 11.5 
			 2005 11.2 
			 2004 11.1 
			 2003 11.2 
			 2002 11.1 
			 2001 11.0 
			 2000 11.3 
			 1999 11.5 
			 1998 11.5 
			 1997 11.4 
			  Note: Data for 2004 onwards are not fully comparable with earlier years  Source: DFT, Continuing Survey of Road Goods Transport

Lorries: Accidents

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport how many accidents involving  (a) UK-registered and  (b) non-UK registered heavy goods vehicles were recorded on UK roads in each of the last 10 years.

Paul Clark: Data concerning whether vehicles involved in personal injury road accidents are foreign registered have only been collected from 2005. The table shows the number of personal injury road accidents since 2005 involving known foreign registered HGVs and HGVs recorded as not foreign registered:
	
		
			  Reported personal injury accidents involving heavy goods vehicles: GB 2005-08 
			   Accidents involving foreign registered HGVs  Accidents involving HGVs not registered  as foreign( 1)  All HGV accidents( 2) 
			 2005 1,098 9,835 11,162 
			 2006 1,047 9,342 10,466 
			 2007 919 8,995 9,829 
			 2008 836 7,644 8,415 
			 (1 )Includes some cases where at the time of reporting it was not known whether an HGV was foreign registered. (2) Includes cases where it is not recorded whether HGV is foreign registered. Accidents can include both foreign registered HGVs and HGVs not registered as foreign so the total may be smaller than the sum of other two figures.

M1: Speed Limits

Greg Knight: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what plans he has to implement a temporary speed limit reduction on  (a) the M1 motorway between junctions 30 and 31 and  (b) on the M18 motorway between junction 1 and the junction with the M1 motorway; and if he will make a statement.

Chris Mole: The information is as follows:
	 (a) The M1 junction 30-31 scheme is to strengthen the hardshoulders of both northbound and southbound carriageways. The work started 30 November and is scheduled for completion in early January 2010. The work is being undertaken with overnight hardshoulder and Lane 1 closures without the need for speed reduction.
	 (b) There are no schemes planned between junction 1 of the M18 and junction 32 of the M1. However, the Highways Agency will be carrying out hardshoulder strengthening works on the northbound and southbound carriageways of the M1 between junction 32 and junction 33. This work is programmed to commence in February 2010 for three weeks and will be undertaken with overnight hardshoulder and Lane 1 closures without the need for speed reduction.

Manchester Airport: Railways

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what information his Department holds on the passenger data taken into account in determining the frequency of direct rail services to and from Manchester Airport.

Chris Mole: holding answer 26 November 2009
	 For English rail franchises the Department for Transport defines a minimum train service, which is reviewed in the light of present and forecast demand when franchises are replaced.
	In accordance with the requirements of their franchise agreements, train operating companies collect passenger counts data in order to assess demand and to monitor the rail services serving Manchester airport station. These data are commercially confidential and are owned by the respective train operating companies. The Department for Transport currently holds only partial passenger counts information for rail services serving Manchester airport station.

Motorways: Noise

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what information his Department has compiled on the difference measured in decibels between the typical noise created by a concrete motorway surface and a low-noise tarmac surface.

Chris Mole: holding answer 30 November 2009
	Typical noise levels created from either in-service concrete or low-noise surfaces cannot be readily defined. Noise levels created by individual surfaces, even for the same surfacing material type, can vary widely as they are influenced by factors such as age of the surface and its texture depth wear.
	Whenever major maintenance is carried out on the strategic road network in England, a low noise surfacing is specified. The Highways Agency specification requires low noise surfacing materials to be at least 2.5dB(A) quieter than traditional hot rolled asphalt surfaces.

Motorways: Repairs and Maintenance

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what estimate the Highways Agency has made of the cost per mile of resurfacing concrete motorways with low noise tarmac surfaces.

Chris Mole: holding answer 30 November 2009
	The estimated cost per mile of resurfacing each lane of concrete pavement on a motorway using quieter surfacing materials ranges between £200,000 and £1,900,000 at today's prices. Accurate cost estimates can only be obtained once a scheme's detailed design has been undertaken, as this will depend on the type of treatment required and associated site specific requirements. The higher costs would only be incurred where roads constructed to old design standards (i.e. before 1987) were resurfaced, so these are becoming increasingly rare.

Norwich-London Railway Line

David Ruffley: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what the average age of rolling stock used on the Norwich to London railway line was during  (a) 2007,  (b) 2008 and  (c) to date in 2009.

Chris Mole: The Department for Transport does not hold the information requested in relation to the average age of rolling stock used on the Norwich to London railway line.

Norwich-London Railway Line

David Ruffley: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport on how many occasions trains between Norwich and London Liverpool Street were more than  (a) 15 minutes,  (b) 30 minutes and  (c) one hour late in arriving at their final destination in (i) 2007, (ii) 2009 and (iii) 2009 to date.

Chris Mole: The Department for Transport does not hold information on train delays for the Norwich and London Liverpool Street route. Network Rail is responsible for train running data for the rail industry. The hon. Member may wish to contact Network Rail's chief executive at the following address for such information:
	Iain Coucher
	Chief Executive
	Network Rail
	Kings Place
	90 York Way
	London, N1 9AG.

Ports: Milford Haven

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport when he expects to lay before the House a Harbour Revision Order relating to the Port of Milford Haven.

Paul Clark: In common with other major trust ports the Milford Haven port authority have been asked to report to the Government by April 2010 on their review of their corporate structure. In these circumstances it would be premature to determine the earlier Harbour Revision Order designed to alter the constitution of the Authority.

Railways: Bridges

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what steps his Department is taking to ensure the structural integrity of railway bridges in England.

Chris Mole: The structural integrity of railway bridges in England is an operational matter for Network Rail as owner and operator of the national network, and the company has its own teams of structures engineers.
	The funding and efficiency of the maintenance and renewal activity by Network Rail on its own bridges is determined and monitored by the independent Office of Rail Regulation as part of its determination of the company's outputs and funding for each five-year control period.
	Network Rail-owned bridges over railways most commonly carry local authority roads. In England, under the Railway Bridges (Load Bearing Standards) Regulations (England and Wales) Order 1972 (SI 1705/1972), they are statutorily required to be able to carry 24 imperial tons. They are covered by a national programme of assessment and works and a national cost sharing agreement with local authorities relating to the costs of assessment and strengthening.

Railways: Standards

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what recent estimate he has made of the  (a) fastest,  (b) average and  (c) slowest journey times between (i) London and Edinburgh, (ii) Edinburgh and Aberdeen and (iii) London and Aberdeen following the introduction of the new Intercity Express trains; and if he will provide the same information in respect of existing journey times.

Chris Mole: holding answer 24 November 2009
	 The introduction of Super Express Trains would see a more standardised pattern of train services throughout the day, not just the occasional headline train on routes as is the case today, resulting in less variance in the fastest/slowest/average journey times.
	All future journey times remain indicative until the timetable has been finalised which will be a result of the forthcoming East Coast franchise specification process.
	
		
			  Current journey times 
			  Journey times  Fastest  Slowest  Average 
			 London (Kings Cross)-Edinburgh 04:13 04:56 04:31 
			 Edinburgh-Aberdeen 02:35 02:42 02:38 
			 London-Aberdeen 07:07 07:12 07:08 
		
	
	
		
			  Indicative future Super Express journey times 
			  Journey times  Fastest  Slowest  Average 
			 London-Edinburgh 04:06 04:32 04:12 
			 Edinburgh-Aberdeen 02:27 02:27 02:27 
			 London-Aberdeen 06:37 06:53 06:41

Thameslink Railway Line: Industrial Disputes

Anne Main: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what the outcomes are of his Department's monitoring of the effects on train services of First Capital Connect train drivers choosing to work only their contracted hours; what assessment he has made of the effects of such action on routes other than the Bedford to Brighton route; how many other routes have been affected to date; what steps he is taking to resolve the situation; and what assessment he has made of the extent to which First Capital Connect can deliver on its franchise requirements while such action persists.

Chris Mole: holding answer 1 December 2009
	Officials at the Department for Transport are ensuring that the amended timetables that First Capital Connect is operating look to protect the first and last services of the day for all First Capital Connect routes; provide a balanced service during the day; and provide replacement bus services where appropriate. First Capital Connect is obliged to reinstate trains when resources are available and this is happening when possible.
	No assessment has been made of the effects of the action on other routes, but there is a notable increase in passengers using First Capital Connect services on the Great Northern route during peak periods. In addition, First Capital Connect has arranged for its tickets to be valid on Southern services between Brighton, Sutton, Wimbledon and intermediate stations to Victoria, as well as on Stagecoach South West Trains services between Wimbledon and Waterloo.
	First Capital Connect Thameslink tickets can also be used on the Tramlink services and on London underground and buses on all reasonable routes. Further, on the Great Northern route, First Capital Connect will when necessary arrange for their passengers to be able to use the East Coast services between Peterborough and London.
	First Capital Connect is in negotiation with the unions to resolve this matter and all parties are urged to resolve this unacceptable situation.
	The Department for Transport is monitoring First Capital Connect's ability to deliver their franchise requirements in accordance with their contractual commitments and we will take appropriate action to ensure compliance.

Train Operating Companies: Complaints

David Ruffley: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport what information his Department holds on the complaints received by each railway operator about its services in each of the last 10 years.

Chris Mole: The Department for Transport collects statistics from each train operating company on the complaints it receives about its services. These are then passed to the Office of Rail Regulation for publication in National Rail Trends. These figures are available from the financial year 2002-03. National Rail Trends is available in the Libraries of the House or on the Office of Rail Regulation's website:
	www.rail-reg.gov.uk

Trust Ports

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport when an assessment was last made of the monetary value of the assets of Trust Ports.

Paul Clark: No assessment of the monetary value of the assets of the Trust Ports has been undertaken by the Government.

Trust Ports

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Transport when he next plans to assess the monetary value of assets of Trust Ports.

Paul Clark: I have no plans to assess the monetary value of assets of Trust Ports.

WALES

Departmental Internet

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what the cost was of maintaining his Department's website in the 2008-09 financial year; and what the forecast cost is of maintaining websites within his responsibility in the 2009-10 financial year.

Peter Hain: The cost of hosting and maintaining the Wales Office website in 2008-09 was £6,054.55, the forecast spend on this for the current financial year is £7,976. The costs in 2008-09 were lower as the first three months had been paid on set up of the new website in January 2008.

Departmental Pay

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much was claimed in reimbursable expenses by press officers in his Department in  (a) 2006-07 and  (b) 2007-08.

Peter Hain: Wales Office press officers are appointed to work in both London and Cardiff offices, and elsewhere with Ministers, as required. They will be reimbursed for travelling and subsistence expenses incurred in their duties. The sums paid in each of the last two years were:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2006-07 1,931.44 
			 2007-08 3,481.51 
		
	
	Additionally, depending where they are based on appointment, their terms and conditions may include civil service detached duty allowances to reflect costs incurred in living away from home.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales if he will provide a breakdown by category of the annually managed expenditure of his Department's budget for 2009.

Peter Hain: The Wales Office does not have annually managed expenditure, its budget is purely resource DEL (Departmental Expenditure Limit).

Departmental Taxis

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many miles  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials in his Department travelled by taxi in the course of their official duties in each year since 1997; and at what cost to the public purse in each such year.

Peter Hain: The information is as follows:
	 (a) and  (b) This information is not held centrally.
	My Department has spent the following amounts on taxis:
	
		
			   £ 
			 2002-03 1,266 
			 2003-04 1,154 
			 2004-05 625 
			 2005-06 2,321 
			 2006-07 2,194 
			 2007-08 3,424.16 
			 2008-09 5,505.10

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Departmental Training

Grant Shapps: To ask the Leader of the House what training sessions were attended by  (a) Ministers and  (b) special advisers in her Office at public expense in each of the last three years.

Barbara Keeley: The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons joined the Cabinet Office in June 2007. Information prior to this date can be provided only at disproportionate costs.
	Since June 2007 Ministers in the Office of the Leader of the House of Commons have taken up training courses provided by the National School of Government and Sara Jones Associates Ltd. No training sessions have been attended by special advisers in the Leader of the House of Commons Office since June 2007.
	Training is provided to Ministers and Special Advisers as part of their induction and continuing development in order to carry out their respective duties effectively under the Ministerial Code and the Code of Conduct for Special Advisers. Details of training provided to Government Ministers by the National School of Government are publicly available and can be found at:
	http://www.nationalschool.gov.uk/policy/MinisterialProgramme/Table.asp

Members: Allowances

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Leader of the House how much Sir Thomas Legg's work on hon. Members' expenses is expected to cost.

Barbara Keeley: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer provided to the hon. Member for Lewes (Norman Baker) on 22 October 2009,  Official R eport, column 1630W:
	The review is expected to cost approximately £1.1 million.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Theft: Prosecutions

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Solicitor-General if she will request the Director of Public Prosecutions to review the policy of the Crown Prosecution Service on prosecutions for offences of theft from shops.

Vera Baird: There is no discrete CPS policy on prosecutions for shop theft. Decisions on whether to prosecute a person for offences of theft from a shop, in common with all decisions on prosecution, are made in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors which provides general principles to be applied when balancing public interest factors for and against prosecution.
	The Code for Crown Prosecutors is currently under review and is the subject of a public consultation exercise which closes on 11 January 2010.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Employment

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how long on average it took an 18 to 24 year-old on jobseeker's allowance to get a full-time paid job in  (a) the UK,  (b) England,  (c) the North East and  (d) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency in the latest period for which figures are available.

Dawn Butler: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Jil Matheson, dated November 2009:
	As National Statistician, 1 have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how long on average it took an 18 to 24 year old on job seeker's allowance to get a full-time paid job in  (a) the UK  (b) England and  (c) the North East and  (d) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency in the latest period for which figures are available. (301751)
	The Office for National Statistics publishes the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) from the Jobcentre Plus administrative system. Although some information is available on whether people leaving JSA did so because they found work, this information does not distinguish part time and full time work, and as its collection is voluntary it does not have sufficient coverage to be reliable.

Housing Benefit

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households in each tenure group were in receipt of  (a) housing benefit and  (b) council tax benefit in May (i) 2001, (ii) 2005 and (iii) 2009; and what the annualised cost was of each benefit at those dates.

Helen Goodman: Information on council tax benefit is not available broken down by tenure type. The available information is in the following tables.
	
		
			  Number of housing benefit and council tax benefit recipients in Great Britain by tenure: May 2001 and May 2005 
			   Housing benefit (HB)  Council tax benefit 
			   Total HB  Social rented  Private rented  Other  All council tax benefit 
			 2001 3,874,400 3,131,140 743,260 - 4,673,370 
			 2005 3,956,820 3,165,890 790,930 - 4,959,690 
			  Notes: 1. The data refer to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple. 2. The figures have been rounded to the nearest ten. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 3. Figures for any non-responding authorities have been estimated. 4. Housing Benefit figures exclude any Extended Payment cases. 5. Council Tax Benefit figures exclude Second Adult Rebates. 6. - represents nil or negligible.  Source:  Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System quarterly 100 per cent. and taken in May 2001 and May 2005. 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of housing benefit and council tax benefit recipients in Great Britain by tenure: May 2009 
			   Total HB  Social rented  Private rented  Other  Council tax benefit 
			 2009 4,412,990 3,186,400 1,221,420 5,170 5,444,060 
			  Notes: 1. The data refer to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple. 2. The figures have been rounded to the nearest ten. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 3. Figures for any non-responding authorities have been estimated. 4. Housing Benefit figures exclude any Extended Payment cases. 5. Council Tax Benefit figures exclude Second Adult Rebates.  Source:  Single Housing Benefit Extract (SHBE) taken in May 2009. 
		
	
	
		
			  Expenditure on housing benefit by tenancy type, and council tax benefit, cash terms 
			  £ millions 
			   2001-02  2005-06  2009-10 forecast 
			 Local authority 5,282 5,263 5,816 
			 Registered social landlord 3,486 4,959 7,588 
			 Private renter 2,827 3,723 6,248 
			 Total housing benefit 11,596 13,945 19,652 
			 Council tax benefit 2,686 3,774 4,648 
		
	
	
		
			  Expenditure on housing benefit, split by tenancy type, and council tax benefit real terms, 2009-10 prices 
			  £ millions 
			   2001-02  2005-06  2009-10 forecast 
			 Local authority 6,424 5,753 5,816 
			 Registered social landlord 4,239 5,421 7,588 
			 Private renter 3,438 4,070 6,248 
			 Total housing benefit 14,101 15,245 19,652 
			 Council tax benefit 3,266 4,126 4,648 
			  Notes: 1. Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit expenditure are only available for full financial years. 2. Figures for 2009-10 are Budget 2009 forecasts. 3. Figures include all expenditure, whether funded by central or local government. Housing Benefit expenditure includes Discretionary Housing Payments. 4. Updated forecasts, and actual expenditure for 2008-09 will be published following the 2009 pre-Budget report. 5. Real terms figures are in 2009-10 prices, and derived using the Budget 2009 GDP deflator. 6. Historic and forecast expenditure for housing benefit and council tax benefit can be found on the internet at: http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd4/medium_term.asp  Source:  Local Authority Subsidy returns and Budget 2009 forecasts.

Housing Benefit: Newcastle Upon Tyne

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many households in the  (a) owner occupation,  (b) social rented and  (c) private rented accommodation sector in the City of Newcastle upon Tyne were in receipt of (i) housing benefit and (ii) council tax benefit in May (A) 2001, (B) 2005 and (C) 2009.

Helen Goodman: Housing benefit is not paid to owner-occupiers. Council tax benefit information is not available by tenure type.
	The available information is in the following tables.
	
		
			  Number of housing benefit and council tax benefit recipients in Newcastle upon Tyne by tenure: May 2001 and May 2005 
			   Housing benefit (HB)  Council tax benefit 
			   All HB  Social rented  Private rented  Other  All council tax benefit 
			 May 2001 32,360 27,020 5,340 - 35,380 
			 May 2005 29,090 24,670 4,420 - 33,020 
			  Notes: 1. The data refer to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple. 2. The figures have been rounded to the nearest ten. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 3. Housing Benefit figures exclude any Extended Payment cases. 4. Council Tax Benefit figures exclude Second Adult Rebates. 5. - represents nil or negligible. 6. 'Owner/Occupier' tenure type is not available from the Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System data source.  Source:  Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Management Information System quarterly 100 per cent. taken in May 2001 and May 2005. 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of housing benefit and council tax benefit recipients in Newcastle upon Tyne by tenure: May 2001 and May 2005 
			   Housing benefit (HB)  Council tax benefit 
			   All HB  Social rented  Private rented  Other  All council tax benefit 
			 May 2009 29,990 25,040 4,940 10 33,690 
			  Notes: 1. The data refer to benefit units, which may be a single person or a couple. 2. The figures have been rounded to the nearest ten. 3. Figures for any non-responding authorities have been estimated. 4. Totals may not sum due to rounding. 5. Housing Benefit figures exclude any Extended Payment cases. 6. Council Tax Benefit figures exclude Second Adult Rebates.  Source:  Single Housing Benefit Extract (SHBE) taken in May 2009.

Job Vacancies

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many vacancies for  (a) all jobs,  (b) jobs of less than 16 hours a week and  (c) jobs of 16 to 30 hours a week there were in each region and country of the UK in the latest period for which figures are available.

Angela Smith: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Jil Matheson, dated December 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many vacancies for (a) all jobs (b) jobs of less than 16 hours a week and (c) jobs of 16 to 30 hours a week there were in each region and country of the UK in the latest period for which figures are available (302455).
	The Office for National Statistics measures the number of vacancies in the UK using the ONS Vacancy Survey. There were an estimated 428,000 vacancies in the UK in the period August to October 2009 (seasonally adjusted). Estimates of the number of vacancies in regions and countries of the UK are not available from this source.
	An alternative source of data is the Jobcentre Plus administrative system. This data only includes job vacancies notified to Jobcentre Plus and so is inconsistent with the UK estimates from the ONS Vacancy Survey, which covers a wider range of vacancies. However, geographical breakdowns of Jobcentre Plus data are available, apart from Northern Ireland.
	Neither the ONS Vacancy Survey nor the Jobcentre Plus administrative data give details of whether vacancies are for less than 16 hours a week or between 16 and 30 hours a week. However, the Jobcentre Plus administrative data does give a split between full-time jobs, defined as 30 or more hours a week, and part-time jobs, defined as less than 30 hours a week.
	Table 1, attached, shows the number of live unfilled job vacancies held by Jobcentre Plus for each English region, Scotland, Wales and Great Britain for October 2009. The table also shows the number of live unfilled vacancies that are for full-time and for part-time jobs.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of full-time and part-time( 1)  job vacancies( 2)  in English regions, Wales, Scotland and Great Britain 
			  Not seasonally adjusted 
			   October 2009 
			   Total vacancies  Full-time  Part-Time 
			 North East 10,590 6,920 3,670 
			 North West 35,925 25,322 10,603 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 23,456 15,818 7,638 
			 East Midlands 28,058 21,500 6,558 
			 West Midlands 27,436 20,101 7,335 
			 East 24,451 16,266 8,185 
			 London 25,695 19,243 6,452 
			 South East 35,731 24,983 10,748 
			 South West 26,293 16,883 9,410 
			 Wales 13,736 9,409 4,327 
			 Scotland 19,335 12,006 7,329 
			 Great Britain 270,706 188,451 82,255 
			 (1 )Full-time vacancies are for jobs involving 30 or more hours per week, part-time vacancies are for jobs involving less than 30 hours per week. (2 )Job vacancies for English regions, Scotland, Wales and Great Britain are live unfilled vacancies from Jobcentre Plus administrative data. These are inconsistent with UK figures from the ONS Vacancy Survey, which covers a wider range of vacancies.  Source:  Jobcentre Plus Administrative data

Unemployment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many of those classified as economically inactive were  (a) students and  (b) on long-tern sickness leave in each of the last 10 years.

Angela Smith: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Jil Matheson, dated November 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many of those classified as economically inactive were  (a) students and  (b) on long-term sickness leave in each of the last 10 years. (302353)
	Estimates of economic inactivity are available from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). In accordance with the International Labour Organization (ILO) definition, people are classed as economically inactive if they are neither in employment nor unemployed. All people on sickness leave are classified as in employment and arc therefore not economically inactive. The table provided contains estimates of the number of economically inactive people who report that their main reason for being inactive is that they are a student and also those inactive people who report that they have a long-term sickness or disability.
	Estimates of the reasons for inactivity are not available for all people aged 16 and over. Therefore the estimates provided are for working age people only, consistent with the LFS aggregates published in Table 13 of the Labour Market Statistical Bulletin. The historical figures in Table 13 are published in the Labour Market Statistical Bulletin Historical Supplement which is available on the National Statistics website via the following link:
	http://www.statistics.gov.uk/OnlineProducts/LMS_FR_HS.asp
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. Indications of the sampling variability of LFS aggregate estimates are provided in the Statistical Bulletin.
	
		
			  Economically inactive people( 1)  of working age( 2) , by main reason for inactivity-three month periods ending September, 1999 to 2009, United Kingdom, seasonally adjusted 
			   Thousand 
			   Student  Long-term sickness or disability 
			 1999 1,423 2,174 
			 2000 1,443 2,152 
			 2001 1,525 2,233 
			 2002 1,561 2,172 
			 2003 1,677 2,122 
			 2004 1,739 2,186 
			 2005 1,893 2,109 
			 2006 1,819 2,044 
			 2007 1,930 2,017 
			 2008 1,991 2,050 
			 2009 2,201 2,011 
			 (1) Economically inactive people are neither in employment nor unemployed. (2) Men aged 16-64 and women aged 16-59  Note: The above estimates exclude people in most types of communal establishment (e.g. hotels, boarding houses, hostels, mobile home sites etc)  Source:  Labour Force Survey

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Building Regulations: Energy

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he plans to include heating system water treatment cleaners and inhibitors in the UK implementation of energy performance standards for technical building systems under the EU Energy Performance of Building Directive.

Ian Austin: Articles 3 to 6 of the EPBD that cover requirements for the energy efficiency of buildings have been implemented through part L of the building regulations-conservation of fuel and power.
	Building regulations guidance calls for the application of water treatment when heating systems are installed in new and existing dwellings. There are no proposals to extend the guidance to non-domestic buildings, although we will consider any requests to do so as part of the analysis of the responses to the recent building regulations part 2010 consultation.

Building Regulations: Energy

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he plans to amend the Building Regulations to  (a) encourage a reduction in energy consumption through the application of heating system water treatment cleaners and inhibitors and  (b) make the application of heating system water treatment cleaners and inhibitors a mandatory element of the Regulations.

Ian Austin: Building regulations guidance already calls for the application of water treatment cleaners and inhibitors when heating systems are installed in new and existing dwellings. There are no proposals to extend the guidance to non-domestic buildings, although we will consider any requests to do so as part of the analysis of the responses to the recent building regulations part L 2010 consultation. A summary of the responses will be published on the Department's website in due course.

Capita

Don Touhig: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on how many occasions Capita Group plc tendered for contracts let by his Department and its predecessors in each of the last five years; how many such tenders were successful; how much his Department and its predecessors paid to Capita Group plc for the execution of contracts in each such year; how many contracts which terminate after 2010 Capita Group plc holds with his Department; and what the monetary value is of all outstanding contracts between his Department and Capita Group plc.

Barbara Follett: No commercial contracts have been let with Capita Group plc in the last five years. Details of individual tenders could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.

Common Land: Rochdale

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what proportion of land in Rochdale constituency is common land.

Ian Austin: Registers of common land are held by local authorities. However, data gathered from the registers by the Countryside Agency in 2001 show that, at that time, 24.5 per cent. of land in the Rochdale parliamentary constituency was registered common land.

Community Relations

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will make an assessment of the potential effects on community cohesion of trends in the level of geographical mobility.

Shahid Malik: The Department has made a comprehensive assessment of the drivers of community cohesion at the local level, which includes consideration of the impact of mobility. For detail of this analysis please see James Laurence and Anthony Heath (2008) Predictors of Community Cohesion: Multi-Level Modelling of the 2005 Citizenship Survey, Communities and Local Government.
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/communities/predictorscohesion

Council Housing: Finance

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will amend the affordability criteria issued by the Homes and Communities Agency in its consideration of applications for social housing grant to provide that borrowing by local authorities is treated in the same way as that by registered social landlords.

John Healey: The premise of our current local authority funding programme is that new social housing building by councils on land they already own should represent value for money.

Council Housing: Finance

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will consider the merits of introducing a floor mechanism in his proposed reform of council housing finance to provide that no local authority will lose from the change.

Ian Austin: Our proposals for reforming the council housing finance system include increases in the assumed need to spend on management, maintenance and major repairs which would put all councils in a better financial position than under a continuation of the current system.

Departmental Assets

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assets of his Department are planned to be sold in each year from 2009-10 to 2013-14; what the  (a) description and  (b) book value of each such asset is; what the expected revenue from each such sale is; and if he will make a statement.

Barbara Follett: No asset disposals are planned by the Department in either 2009-10 or 2010-11, the last years of the current spending review period. The Government have stated their intention to realise £16 billion in asset disposals over the period 2011-14 and will publish further details of opportunities to commercialise business assets in the coming weeks.

Departmental Consultants

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many external consultants work for his Department.

Barbara Follett: The Department does record expenditure by category in its financial system but the details of the number of individuals employed under consultancy contracts are not kept centrally and therefore could only be established after an extensive consultation exercise with the business units that commissioned them. This could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Internet

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the cost was of maintaining his Department's website in the 2008-09 financial year; and what the forecast cost is of maintaining websites within his responsibility in the 2009-10 financial year.

Barbara Follett: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Romford (Andrew Rosindell) on 6 May 2009,  Official Report, columns 234-35W.
	Regarding costs for 2009-10, the annual running costs for this technology platform are fixed and we are contractually committed to all elements of the budget.
	In line with the Public Accounts Committee recommendation and Central Office of Information guidance for Government Departments, we will supply cost data for the financial year 2009-10 in April 2010.

Fire Service College: Public Relations

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what payments the Fire Service College has made to Four Communications in the last 12 months; for what purposes; and if he will place in the Library a copy of each of the contracts under which such payments have been made.

Shahid Malik: The Fire Service College has paid £12,044.36 including VAT to Four Communications in the last 12-months to provide specialist communications advice.
	Payments have been made under the College's standard purchase terms and conditions, copies of which will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Fire Services: Floods

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what contingency funding are available to fire and rescue services for the provision of  (a) rescue and flood response services,  (b) equipment and  (c) staff training in respect of flooding.

Shahid Malik: At the national level, the Department has provided the fire and rescue service with 46 high volume pumps and funding for training. The high volume pumps have been used to great effect during floods.
	At the local level, fire and rescue authorities are able to use their local discretion in equipping themselves with the appropriate capabilities to meet the risks, such as flooding, identified through their local risk assessment processes, using the flexible funding arrangements of the revenue support grant.
	The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has made up to £2 million available to March 2011 to carry out the Flood Rescue National Enhancement Project, which aims to enhance current flood rescue capability. A strategy for how this money will be best used is being developed, and organisations, including the fire and rescue service, could potentially receive some future funding.

Fire Services: Warwickshire

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what recent discussions he has had following the firefighter fatalities at Atherstone on Stour in November 2007 with  (a) Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service,  (b) the Warwickshire Fire Authority,  (c) HM Government Chief Fire and Rescue Advisor and  (d) the Health and Safety Executive on the improvement notice served on Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service in January 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Shahid Malik: No recent discussions have taken place following the firefighter fatalities at Atherstone on Stour in November 2007. There is an ongoing police and Health and Safety Executive investigation into the incident and it would therefore be inappropriate to make a statement at this time.

Fires: Death

Janet Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average age was of those killed in domestic fires in each Fire and Rescue Authority area in each year since 2000.

Shahid Malik: The information requested is provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Average age of fatalities in dwelling fires by FRS area, England, 2000-08( 1) 
			  FRS area  2000-08( 1)  2000  2001 ( 2) 2002  2003( 2)  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008( 1) 
			  England (3)54.6 55.1 53.8 52.7 51.5 53.0 52.8 57.3 57.8 58.7 
			
			 Avon 54.2 49.8 44.5 60.5 60.2 54.3 50.0 73.7 60.3 48.0 
			 Bedfordshire 52.5 62.0 40.3 55.3 50.2 55.0 78.0 53.3 - 38.0 
			 Berkshire 54.6 50.9 65.8 19.0 44.7 66.0 84.0 67.5 57.0 53.3 
			 Buckinghamshire 61.3 67.3 61.7 54.0 45.5 59.0 87.5 68.0 55.0 74.0 
			 Cambridgeshire 54.8 60.7 24.5 11.0 50.5 67.7 63.5 37.0 80.5 57.0 
			 Cheshire 58.9 76.8 74.4 38.2 45.3 76.0 52.9 50.8 60.4 60.4 
			 Cleveland 38.6 54.0 41.8 30.5 28.1 22.5 39.5 45.5 72.0 63.5 
			 Cornwall 69.0 78.5 53.0 69.3 59.3 71.7 69.5 - 86.5 79.0 
			 Cumbria 66.1 83.3 67.8 79.0 65.0 63.3 86.0 30.0 63.4 65.2 
			 Derbyshire 43.5 34.3 43.4 47.5 37.5 66.4 47.5 20.0 49.5 41.7 
			 Devon and Somerset 52.1 63.0 51.5 45.7 54.2 61.7 55.3 55.1 48.7 32.5 
			 Dorset 58.2 65.0 70.6 30.2 58.0 36.3 82.0 85.0 39.0 70.9 
			 Durham 54.6 53.0 28.3 54.7 67.9 68.7 53.3 46.8 - 61.0 
			 East Sussex 58.8 63.7 58.3 69.3 33.7 67.5 51.0 84.0 64.5 42.6 
			 Essex 61.6 35.1 74.2 78.9 51.0 57.0 63.6 80.1 62.6 65.8 
			 Gloucestershire 59.3 75.0 87.0 30.5 49.4 77.0 59.0 67.5 57.8 80.0 
			 Greater London 55.7 58.2 50.8 59.6 52.5 55.6 49.7 67.9 59.8 50.8 
			 Greater Manchester 51.2 56.0 60.2 51.5 45.8 54.0 43.1 47.3 53.6 54.9 
			 Hampshire 56.9 70.4 51.3 60.8 48.4 60.6 56.7 53.0 54.0 54.2 
			 Hereford and Worcester 69.7 59.0 79.0 82.3 69.0 53.5 71.5 57.3 78.7 50.0 
			 Hertfordshire 61.3 45.8 78.6 61.4 0.0 - 43.8 84.5 50.0 58.0 
			 Humberside 44.8 58.4 61.9 37.4 17.3 29.9 36.3 79.0 57.7 60.5 
			 Isle of Wight 56.0 - - - - - 55.0 89.0 24.0 - 
			 Isles of Scilly - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Kent 49.9 60.4 46.8 55.9 48.7 56.4 42.6 33.8 43.3 60.2 
			 Lancashire 49.7 33.5 53.1 43.5 52.2 52.1 59.8 47.7 62.7 70.4 
			 Leicestershire 52.8 70.0 57.8 56.4 66.3 33.1 67.3 42.8 58.3 61.2 
			 Lincolnshire 54.4 69.0 66.0 49.8 47.5 45.8 27.5 57.8 62.8 50.0 
			 Merseyside 58.5 52.6 62.1 57.2 64.1 58.5 50.4 70.0 65.9 61.4 
			 Norfolk 62.7 61.6 53.0 79.5 74.3 46.5 59.8 57.0 69.7 74.5 
			 North Yorkshire 59.7 59.0 52.3 78.4 48.6 66.0 54.0 47.0 - 81.0 
			 Northamptonshire 55.4 61.0 45.3 42.3 58.0 22.0 41.3 67.4 62.3 77.0 
			 Northumberland 51.5 78.0 28.2 - 58.7 - 65.0 76.0 58.0 62.0 
			 Nottinghamshire 56.8 65.0 51.3 48.3 48.0 65.2 53.8 55.4 64.0 76.0 
			 Oxfordshire 59.2 24.0 64.7 54.2 55.0 71.5 80.5 60.0 51.7 73.0 
			 Shropshire 51.9 37.1 60.0 56.8 78.0 50.0 68.5 33.8 90.0 67.6 
			 South Yorkshire 54.0 55.7 37.7 57.0 45.1 67.3 61.8 56.3 57.0 61.9 
			 Staffordshire 51.7 42.5 51.4 56.4 57.7 43.8 35.3 46.4 65.4 68.0 
			 Suffolk 55.5 45.3 41.6 56.8 61.5 73.0 22.0 75.8 65.0 59.0 
			 Surrey 61.9 57.1 20.0 52.0 72.0 64.0 74.0 79.8 58.3 58.5 
			 Tyne and Wear 60.5 64.0 66.4 72.8 63.1 73.8 39.2 65.6 45.1 67.2 
			 Warwickshire 56.6 72.2 42.2 0.0 49.0 72.5 53.7 - - 54.3 
			 West Midlands 54.5 58.2 56.3 44.8 52.0 41.5 62.5 55.0 57.2 59.7 
			 West Sussex 59.8 59.3 79.0 62.8 67.3 48.8 80.0 63.5 54.5 88.0 
			 West Yorkshire 46.9 48.5 54.8 29.4 51.0 40.9 40.1 54.6 51.4 54.8 
			 Wiltshire 54.9 - 41.3 88.5 61.0 47.0 - 53.5 39.0 55.4 
			 (1) Data for 2008 are provisional and subject to change. (2) Excluding incidents not recorded during periods of industrial action in 2002 (total of 18 incidents) and 2003 (total of five incidents) (3) Average age is calculated on the basis of all fatalities in dwelling fires.

Fires: Death

Janet Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many deaths there were of people aged  (a) one to four,  (b) five to 10,  (c) 11 to 16,  (d) 17 to 24,  (e) 25 to 29,  (f) 30 to 59,  (g) 60 to 64,  (h) 65 to 79 and  (i) 80 and over, per million population, in domestic fires in England in each year since 2000.

Shahid Malik: The fatal casualties in dwelling fire rates per million population by age group, are shown in the table.
	
		
			  Fatal casualties in dwelling fires rates per million population by age group, England, 2000 - 08( 1) 
			  Age group  2000  2001  2002( 2)  2003( 2)  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008( 1) 
			 Rate (per million) of fatal casualties 7.0 7.3 6.2 6.9 5.3 5.7 5.7 4.9 5.0 
			   
			 Under 1 year 1.7 1.8 1.8 3.5 - 3.3 1.6 4.7 - 
			 1-4 4.1 5.5 4.8 10.6 7.5 4.4 5.1 3.3 1.6 
			 5-10 3.1 3.7 4.8 1.6 3.0 2.8 2.3 0.6 1.7 
			 11-16 1.8 1.0 1.0 0.8 1.0 0.8 1.3 0.5 0.3 
			 17-24 2.5 4.4 2.7 3.2 2.0 2.9 1.1 1.8 1.6 
			 25-29 3.7 4.3 4.4 7.4 3.2 3.2 2.4 2.7 2.3 
			 30-59 6.1 5.6 5.3 6.2 4.5 5.0 4.4 4.3 4.5 
			 60-64 7.5 5.9 8.3 6.2 6.4 8.5 7.4 5.2 6.6 
			 65-79 13.2 12.2 10.6 10.4 9.7 11.0 12.1 9.6 8.9 
			 80 and over 35.8 38.1 24.9 28.1 21.3 18.7 26.4 23.3 23.8 
			 Unspecified - - - - - - - - - 
			 (1 )Data for fatal casualties 2008 are provisional and subject to change. (2 )Excluding incidents not recorded during periods of industrial action in 2002 (total of 18 incidents) and 2003 (total of five incidents).  Sources:  Fire incidents data base, Communities and Local Government, and Mid-Year Population Estimates 2000 to 2008, Office for National Statistics.

Fires: Elderly

Janet Dean: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what recent assessment has been made of the vulnerability of older people to domestic fires; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what plans he has to reduce the number of deaths of older people caused by fires in domestic dwellings.

Shahid Malik: The Government are committed to reducing all fire deaths and use research and statistics to inform more effective targeting of fire safety messages. We are aware of the potential vulnerability of older people to domestic fire. The latest fire statistics (2007) show that over 50 per cent. of the fatalities in accidental dwelling fires were aged over 65.
	Independent research, published in 2006, highlighted five key groups who were more vulnerable to fire and harder to reach with crucial messages, one of whom was older people. The Government's Fire Kills campaign seeks to reduce fire deaths in older age groups through specifically targeting its television advertising at programmes that older people are likely to watch. The campaign recognises the importance of partnership working. We are pursuing a range opportunities with Help The Aged/Age Concern, the main suppliers of oxygen to hospital out-patients, and Bowls England, as a means to deliver fire safety messages to older people through their trusted communication channels.
	Between 2004 and 2008, Government provided pump-priming funding of £25 million to fire and rescue services to deliver a programme of home fire risk checks. Firefighters target this free service to vulnerable groups in their communities, including older people and provide tailored fire safety advice and, where necessary, install free smoke alarms. Fire and rescue services continue to deliver this programme and funding is now available through the Revenue Support Grant Block Grant.

Green Belt: Property Development

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps the Government are taking to ensure that the green belt is not adversely affected by housing development.

Ian Austin: The Government are committed to the protection of green belt and its crucial characteristics of openness and permanence. Under our policy in PPG2 (Planning Policy Guidance Note 2, Green Belts), house building in green belt other than limited infill in villages or affordable housing for local needs allowed for in development plan policies is 'inappropriate development'. Any such proposal would be subject to the tests set out in PPG2.
	Government encouragement to give priority to brownfield development is also playing its part. In 2008, 80 per cent. of dwellings (including conversions) were built on brownfield land. Also, homes were built at an average of 44 per hectare. This all helps to reduce the pressure on both greenfield and green belt land.
	Green belt area at 31 March 2009 was estimated to be 1,638,840 hectares, around 13 per cent. of the land area of England. This represents a net increase of 3,170 hectares on the 31 December 2007 estimate of 1,635,370 hectares.

Homelessness

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many households were classified as homeless in each region in each of the last two years.

Ian Austin: Information about English local housing authorities' actions under the homelessness legislation (part 7 of the Housing Act 1996) is collected at local authority level, and published by the Department in the quarterly Statistical Release on Statutory Homelessness, available both in the Library and via the CLG website:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/corporate/statistics/homelessnessq22009
	Data collected include the number of households accepted by local housing authorities as eligible for assistance, unintentionally homeless and in priority need, and therefore owed a main homelessness duty (to secure that suitable accommodation is available). If a settled home is not immediately available, the authority must secure temporary accommodation until a settled home becomes available, and this information is also collected.
	The regional figures for the number of applicants accepted as owed a main duty and the number of households in temporary accommodation for each financial year since 1998-99 can be found in tables 3 and 7 of the latest statistical release, accessible from this link:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/housingresearch/housingstatistics/housingstatisticsby/homelessnessstatistics/publicationshomelessness/
	Information is also collected and reported on the number of people who sleep rough-that is, those who are literally roofless on a single night. Local authority data and count guidance can be found here:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/housing/homelessness/roughsleeping/

Housing

Chloe Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Meriden (Mrs. Spelman) of 11 November 2009,  Official Report, columns 525-6W, on housing, how many first-time buyers there were in  (a) Norwich North constituency and  (b) each region in each year since 1997.

Ian Austin: Information on numbers of mortgages to first time buyers is collected and published at the UK level by the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

Housing: Energy

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether he plans to bring forward requirements for the retrofitting of the existing UK housing stock with heating system water treatment cleaners and inhibitors.

Ian Austin: Current building regulations guidance calls for the application of water treatment when heating systems are installed in new and existing dwellings.

Improvement and Development Agency for Local Government

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much grant his Department has allocated to  (a) the Improvement and Development Agency for Local Government and  (b) the Leadership Centre for Local Government in (i) 2008-09, (ii) 2009-10 and (iii) 2010-11.

Barbara Follett: The Improvement and Development Agency (IDeA) received the following amounts of core funding from my Department for 2008-09 and 2009-10.
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2008-09 28.73 
			 2009-10 32.67 
		
	
	As part of this the Leadership Centre for Local Government has received £2 million in each year.
	Allocations for 2010-11 have not yet been agreed and are currently out for consultation.

KBR

Menzies Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether his Department has entered into any contracts with Kellogg, Brown and Root or its subsidiaries since January 2009.

Barbara Follett: The Department has entered into no commercial contracts with Kellogg, Brown and Root or its subsidiaries since 2009.

Local Government Finance

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate he has made of the shortfall in local authority funding following recovery operations after the floods of summer 2007; and whether he plans to make up the shortfall from central Government funds.

Rosie Winterton: As at June 2008, it was estimated that local authorities had spent £224 million on the response to and recovery from the summer 2007 floods. This total includes insurable costs.
	Government made available a comprehensive package of over £136 million to assist the affected regions and help those in greatest need, including funding for schools, transport and businesses.
	The Bellwin scheme was activated nationwide, for all authorities affected by the June and July 2007 floods. The schemes announced by the Prime Minister were among the most generous ever, with an extension of the period for which local authorities are eligible to claim from two months to six months and an increase in the proportion of costs local authorities could claim to 100 per cent. (instead of the usual 85 per cent.), once they spent above their usual threshold (0.2 per cent. of their revenue budget). Around £19 million was paid out through this scheme.
	In addition, we exceptionally made available Flood Recovery Grant of £18.4 million to support the work of the hardest hit local authorities in helping these people in their communities in greatest need and, in July 2008, £30.6 million was allocated under the Restoration Fund to support their continued efforts to rebuild their communities. The Department for Children, Schools and Families also made £13.5 million available for schools and children's services affected by the floods.
	Local authorities are expected to meet some of the costs of flooding by claiming on their insurance policies, reprioritising their budgets, and using their reserves, if necessary. Every local authority is required to maintain reserves, one of the main purposes of which is to meet unexpected costs.

Local Government Finance: Bexley

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the London local government finance settlement for the London Borough of Bexley  (a) was in (i) 2005-06, (ii) 2006-07, (iii) 2007-08 and (iv) 2008-09 and  (b) is for (A) 2009-10 and (B) 2010-11.

Barbara Follett: The following table shows the amount for formula grant, which is made up of Revenue Support Grant and redistributed business rates for non-police authorities, for the period requested.
	
		
			   Prior years adjusted formula grant( 1)  (£ million)  Current year's formula grant (£ million)  Change (£ million)  Percentage change 
			  Amended 2005-06: 173.518 182.531 9.013 5.2 
			 2006-07(2) 56.490 57.671 1.181 2.1 
			 2007-08 57.182 58.726 1.544 2.7 
			 2008-09 62.365 63.612 1.247 2.0 
			 2009-10 63.538 64.650 1.112 1.75 
			  Provisional 2010-11 64.621 65.591 0.969 1.5 
			 (1) The prior year's formula grant is adjusted for changes in function and funding to enable a like-for-like comparison. (2) Prior to 2006-07 support for schools was paid through formula grant. In 2006-07 funding for schools transferred to the Dedicated Schools Grant.

Non-Domestic Rates

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate has been made of the likely amount to be billed to businesses in each region in national non-domestic rates in  (a) total and  (b) respect of properties experiencing a rates reduction as a result of the planned transitional relief scheme in (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12, (iii) 2012-13, (iv) 2013-14 and (v) 2014-15.

Barbara Follett: No estimates of the likely bills have been made, as these contain not only transitional relief but all other reliefs, some determined at the billing authorities' discretion. Therefore it is not possible to estimate the likely bill of a hereditament.
	For the purpose of modelling the 2010 transitional relief scheme, the Notional Chargeable Amount (NCA) was calculated. The NCA for a given year is the product of the rateable value and that year's small business multiplier. The NCA is then compared to the previous year's reference value increased by the caps. The minimum of these two values was used as a proxy for the bill after transition but before all other reliefs. Details on the methodology and assumptions used can be found on page 49 of the Transitional arrangements for the non-domestic rating revaluation 2010 in England consultation document. These include zero inflation, which does not reflect the latest information available, and adjustments for appeals.
	A copy of the consultation document is available at the following link:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovemment/nndrrevaluation2010

Non-Domestic Rates

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much was billed to businesses in each region for national non-domestic rates in 2008-09; and what estimate he has made of the equivalent figures in 2009-10.

Barbara Follett: The net amount of non-domestic rates that should have been collected in 2008-09 after reliefs, in each region in England, are given in the following table.
	Data for 2009-10 are not yet available.
	
		
			  Estimated net collectable debit in respect of 2008-09  non-domestic rates 
			   £000 
			 North East 724,119 
			 North West 2,287,952 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 1,647,167 
			 East Midlands(1) 1,368,470 
			 West Midlands 1,806,357 
			 East of England 1,965,847 
			 London 5,057,209 
			 South East 3,102,642 
			 SouthWest(1) 1,545,321 
			 Total England 19,505,084 
			 (1) Data for Harborough and Isle of Scilly are estimated as their QRC4 returns were not received in time for inclusion in the statistical release.  Source:  QRC4 Quarterly Return of Council Tax and Non-domestic rates 2008-09. 
		
	
	These data are also available in Table 3 of the statistical release Collection rates for council tax and non-domestic rates in England 2008-09, which was published on 25 June 2009 and is available on the Communities and Local Government website at:
	www.communities.gov.uk/localgovernment/localregional/localgovernmentfinance/statistics/counciltax/collectionrates

Property Development: Common Land

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many applications to  (a) build on and  (b) develop common land (i) in England and Wales and (ii) in Rochdale constituency have been made since entry into force of the relevant provisions of the Commons Act 2006.

Ian Austin: A total of 105 applications, which relate to the development of common land, have been made under section 38 of the Commons Act 2006 and related commons enactments. Of these, 40 applications relate to the proposed construction of buildings or structures on common land. None relate to the Rochdale parliamentary constituency. Section 38 of the Commons Act 2006 is not yet in force in Wales.

Property Development: Common Land

Paul Rowen: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what alternative land was offered to common land owners in cases where permission to develop or build on common land was granted in  (a) Rochdale constituency and  (b) England and Wales in each of the last three years.

Ian Austin: In the last three calendar years, where land was given in exchange to the owner of the common land, consent has been granted for a total of eight applications in England. There were no applications which related to the Rochdale parliamentary constituency. Consent was granted for one application in Wales.

Rented Housing

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when he proposes to implement his proposals for  (a) the licensing of letting agents and  (b) the national register of landlords.

Ian Austin: We have been consulting on our proposals for the licensing of letting agents and the national register of landlords and plan to announce the outcome of that consultation shortly.

Social Rented Housing: South East

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many complaints his Department has received on the standard of social housing in  (a) Lewes constituency,  (b) Sussex and  (c) England and Wales in each of the last 10-years.

Ian Austin: Housing is a matter devolved to Wales. The information requested is not held centrally.

Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what payments the Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation has made to Connect Public Affairs in the last 12 months; for what purpose; and if he will place in the Library a copy of each of the contracts under which such payments have been made.

Shahid Malik: In the last 12 months, the Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation has paid £45,102 in professional fees to Connect Public Affairs in support of their communications strategy, stakeholder engagement and production of allied events. The contract between the corporation and Connect Public Affairs is commercially confidential.

Vacant Land: Tamworth

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what percentage of non-flood plain land in the Tamworth borough council area is green space.

Ian Austin: 69 per cent. of non-flood plain land is deemed to be green space in the borough of Tamworth. This information has been obtained from Tamworth borough council as Government do not maintain a comprehensive record of information on green spaces.

Vacant Land: Tamworth

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much and what proportion of land area in Tamworth borough was green space in 2004.

Ian Austin: Unfortunately we are unable to identify a comparison figure for 2004 for green space. However, Tamworth borough can not recall any significant losses of the green space network if any at all since 2004. Therefore the figure shown in the Tamworth borough local plan 2001-2011 adopted on 6 July 2006 is the best approximation of green space land, being 1,189 hectares (2,940 acres) which is 38 per cent. of the total area of Tamworth borough.

JUSTICE

British Bill of Rights and Responsibilities

Eleanor Laing: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many  (a) Ministers,  (b) officials,  (c) representatives of local authorities and  (d) (i) invited and (ii) non-invited members of the public attended the deliberative event on the British Bill of Rights and Responsibilities and a written constitution held on 21 November 2009.

Michael Wills: The deliberative event on 21 November 2009, which is one of a series designed to support qualitative research, was attended by the following persons:
	 (a) One Minister-Roberta Blackman-Woods MP, Assistant Regional Minister for the North East of England (in place of the right hon. Nick Brown, the Regional Minster)
	 (b) Four officials from the Ministry of Justice.
	 (c) No representatives from local authorities.
	 (d) (i) 115 invited members of the general public.
	 (d) (ii) The deliberative events were open only to those who were invited to constitute a broadly representative sample of the population as a whole. It follows that no non-invited members of the general public attended the event on 21 November.

Domestic Violence

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people  (a) started and  (b) completed a domestic violence perpetrator programme in each probation area in each year since such programmes were introduced.

Maria Eagle: The National Offender Management Service are currently collating the requested information and I hope to be in a position to write to the hon. Member before the end of the year.

Driving Offences

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many convictions for  (a) drink-driving and  (b) each other motoring offence resulted in a custodial sentence in (i) Lewes constituency, (ii) Sussex and (iii) England in each of the last 10 years.

Jack Straw: The number of defendants found guilty at all courts in the Sussex police force area and England for driving etc. after consuming alcohol or taking drugs and other motoring offences (by offence type) is given in tables 1 and 2 from 1998 to 2007 (latest available). Sentences of immediate custody imposed at all courts are given in tables 3 and 4.
	Court proceedings data are not available at parliamentary constituency level.
	Data for 2008 are planned for publication on 28 January 2010.
	
		
			  Table 1: The number of defendants found guilty at all courts in the Sussex police force area, for motoring offences( 1) ,  by offence type, from 1998 to 2007( 2,3) 
			  Offence group  Offence type  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 2 Dangerous driving 64 71 56 82 75 65 64 83 66 61 
			 3 Driving etc, after consuming alcohol or taking drugs 1,954 2,021 1,925 2,205 2,158 2,251 2,295 2,157 2,273 2,279 
			 4 Careless driving 916 697 495 398 301 180 176 191 207 368 
			 5 Accident offences 153 147 127 96 86 103 84 63 88 105 
			 7 Driving licence related offences 658 744 763 819 747 656 549 551 573 588 
			 9 Vehicle insurance offences 3,087 2,780 2,492 2,526 2,278 2,156 2,269 2,100 2,401 2,681 
			 10 Vehicle registration and excise licence offences 268 356 55 77 427 208 438 446 623 906 
			 11 Work record and employment offences 108 130 73 86 98 56 35 58 50 22 
			 12 Operator's licence offences 27 35 39 38 40 27 16 17 9 6 
			 13 Vehicle test offences 513 331 237 223 184 108 68 40 44 58 
			 14 Fraud, forgery etc associated with vehicle or driver records 45 50 44 54 30 23 19 13 17 11 
			 15 Vehicle or part in dangerous or defective condition 262 217 169 138 130 77 41 56 62 83 
			 16 Speed limit offences 3,614 3,097 3,422 2,594 1,715 2,756 2,414 3,346 3,507 3,894 
			 17 Motorway offences (other than speeding) 1 - - 1 - - - - - - 
			 18 Neglect of traffic directions 485 332 555 139 70 96 235 308 511 628 
			 19 Neglect of pedestrian rights 102 90 99 79 31 16 19 17 16 18 
			 20 Obstruction, waiting and parking offences 442 452 544 549 150 140 194 172 132 139 
			 21 Lighting offences 46 39 45 27 24 14 3 6 5 16 
			 22 Noise offences 23 17 11 18 10 1 3 2 2 - 
			 23 Load offences 175 167 97 57 121 121 49 30 54 25 
			 24 Offences peculiar to motor cycles 5 2 6 5 3 2 2 - - 4 
			 25 Miscellaneous motoring offences 753 587 549 286 347 319 348 438 345 448 
			  Total 13,701 12,362 11,803 10,497 9,025 9,375 9,321 10,094 10,985 12,340 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2 :  The number of defendants found guilty at all courts in England, for motoring offences( 1) , by offence type, from 1998 to 2007( 2,3) 
			  Offence group  Offence type  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 2 Dangerous driving 4,024 3,633 3,716 3,807 4,512 5,035 4,951 4,330 3,987 3,817 
			 3 Driving etc, after consuming alcohol or taking drugs 77,578 74,413 71,471 70,854 76,191 78,291 80,986 79,005 78,410 76,145 
			 4 Careless driving 39,524 33,414 29,016 25,646 22,582 20,279 19,711 19,325 18,204 27,106 
			 5 Accident offences 5,639 5,406 5,107 5,384 5,243 5,613 5,749 5,469 5,419 5,535 
			 7 Driving licence related offences 37,043 37,389 37,656 38,518 41,512 49,042 52,550 48,895 43,901 41,710 
			 9 Vehicle insurance offences 157,532 155,039 159,841 157,522 170,470 194,103 204,708 188,749 181,047 162,854 
			 10 Vehicle registration and excise licence offences 10,856 8,930 10,567 12,180 17,822 21,896 21,380 12,211 10,136 10,213 
			 11 Work record and employment offences 6,017 5,006 4,493 3,940 3,107 2,890 2,336 2,030 1,830 1,338 
			 12 Operator's licence offences 1,784 1,476 1,580 1,263 981 777 704 703 640 461 
			 13 Vehicle test offences 22,485 19,754 16,302 13,842 12,798 13,583 13,066 11,242 9,108 7,166 
			 14 Fraud, forgery etc associated with vehicle or driver records 4,251 3,845 3,235 3,270 3,077 3,021 2,445 1,816 1,404 1,029 
			 15 Vehicle or part in dangerous or defective condition 17,446 14,476 11,661 9,141 7,670 6,961 7,387 6,674 6,207 6,189 
			 16 Speed limit offences 138,463 133,535 124,105 121,515 110,485 122,839 134,134 141,995 137,022 134,144 
			 17 Motorway offences (other than speeding) 1,866 1,373 2,088 1,481 1,792 1,181 1,423 1,751 1,186 1,070 
			 18 Neglect of traffic directions 26,337 24,999 25,486 23,582 21,516 20,823 22,372 19,556 21,076 21,077 
			 19 Neglect of pedestrian rights 4,814 4,009 3,104 2,471 2,079 2,169 2,139 1,909 1,514 1,552 
			 20 Obstruction, waiting and parking offences 15,418 14,777 12,702 12,070 11,606 12,037 9,747 7,190 5,742 3,659 
			 21 Lighting offences 4,230 3,890 2,912 2,306 2,167 2,055 2,177 2,123 1,892 1,601 
			 22 Noise offences 1,118 1,050 786 655 459 415 376 349 277 219 
			 23 Load offences 12,913 9,904 9,285 7,791 6,592 6,737 5,844 4,576 4,406 4,093 
			 24 Offences peculiar to motor cycles 233 201 259 249 213 226 295 209 197 152 
			 25 Miscellaneous motoring offences 40,394 41,838 40,449 38,236 42,851 55,151 71,505 67,896 49,384 67,024 
			  Total 629,965 598,357 575,821 555,723 565,725 625,124 665,985 628,003 582,989 578,154 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 3 :  The number of offenders sentenced to immediate custody at all courts in the Sussex police force area, for motoring offences( 1) ,  by offence type, from 1998 to 2007( 2,3) 
			  Offence group  Offence type  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 2 Dangerous driving 21 14 21 37 31 25 21 37 31 23 
			 3 Driving etc, after consuming alcohol or taking drugs 60 58 57 68 84 59 46 48 35 49 
			 5 Accident offences - 3 4 1 1 - 2 1 1 1 
			 7 Driving licence related offences 198 269 309 346 315 251 188 154 136 121 
			 9 Vehicle insurance offences 1 - - - - - - - - - 
			 10 Vehicle registration and excise licence offences - - 1 - 1 - - - - - 
			 14 Fraud, forgery etc associated with vehicle or driver records 1 - - - - - - 1 1 - 
			  Total 281 344 392 452 432 335 257 241 204 194 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 4 :  The number of offenders sentenced to immediate custody at all courts in England, for motoring offences( 1) ,  by offence type, from 1998 to 2007( 2,3) 
			  Offence group  Offence type  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 2 Dangerous driving 1,412 1,475 1,591 1,753 2,022 2,186 2,116 1,827 1,584 1,454 
			 3 Driving etc, after consuming alcohol or taking drugs 3,536 3,433 3,239 3,249 3,099 2,880 2,811 2,580 2,104 1,879 
			 4 Careless driving 1 2 1 1 - - 2 1 1 - 
			 5 Accident offences 52 69 67 70 76 64 70 77 59 49 
			 7 Driving licence related offences 9,966 11,230 11,665 12,402 12,562 13,300 11,177 9,175 7,008 5,420 
			 9 Vehicle insurance offences 8 5 15 4 7 10 18 5 7 3 
			 10 Vehicle registration and excise licence offences 1 - 2 - 1 2 - - - - 
			 13 Vehicle test offences 1 - 2 - - - - - - 1 
			 14 Fraud, forgery etc associated with vehicle or driver records 14 22 9 9 20 15 13 12 7 6 
			 15 Vehicle or part in dangerous or defective condition - - 1 - - - - - - 1 
			 16 Speed limit offences 1 2 1 1 - - 1 - 2 - 
			 18 Neglect of traffic directions - 1 1 - - - - - 2 2 
			 19 Neglect of pedestrian rights - - - - - - 2 1 - - 
			 20 Obstruction, waiting and parking offences - - - - - - - - 2 - 
			 23 Load offences - - - - - - - - 1 - 
			 25 Miscellaneous motoring offences 2 4 8 5 5 3 3 3 1 3 
			  Total 14,994 16,243 16,602 17,494 17,792 18,460 16,213 13,681 10,778 8,818 
			 (1) Offence groups are shown only where data have been reported within the period given. (2) The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source Justice Statistics Analytical Services - Ministry of Justice

Hollesley Bay Prison: Prisoner Escapes

John Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have absconded from HMP Hollesley Bay in each of the last five years; and how long each absconder had served in the prison before absconding.

Maria Eagle: The data in table 1 as follows shows the number of prisoners who have absconded from HMP Hollesley Bay in each of the last five years. Table 2 below shows how long each absconder had served in the prison before absconding.
	Absconds have been falling for some years and last year recorded the lowest number of absconds on record. This year is on course to improve further on that record low. Prisoners abscond from prison for many reasons. While open prisons will look for indications that prisoners may be susceptible to absconding, both on allocation to the prison and during their stay in the prison, it is not possible to predict every instance in which a prisoner may want to abscond.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of absconds from HMP Hollesley Bay in each of the last five years 
			   Number of absconds 
			 2004-05 32 
			 2005-06 16 
			 2006-07 21 
			 2007-08 19 
			 2008-09 17 
			 2009-10 to date 10 
			 Total 115 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Days served by absconders in HMP Hollesley Bay before absconding in each of the last five years 
			   Abscond number  Days before abscond 
			 2004-05 1 77 
			  2 255 
			  3 20 
			  4 0 
			  5 173 
			  6 31 
			  7 31 
			  8 10 
			  9 1 
			  10 1 
			  11 56 
			  12 150 
			  13 27 
			  14 32 
			  15 13 
			  16 93 
			  17 45 
			  18 9 
			  19 9 
			  20 46 
			  21 15 
			  22 95 
			  23 110 
			  24 129 
			  25 50 
			  26 97 
			  27 25 
			  28 9 
			  29 9 
			  30 78 
			  31 7 
			  32 7 
			
			 2005-06 1 4 
			  2 12 
			  3 2 
			  4 31 
			  5 55 
			  6 164 
			  7 4 
			  8 64 
			  9 41 
			  10 18 
			  11 10 
			  12 32 
			  13 65 
			  14 264 
			  15 171 
			  16 131 
			
			 2006-07 1 107 
			  2 104 
			  3 54 
			  4 97 
			  5 35 
			  6 33 
			  7 26 
			  8 7 
			  9 735 
			  10 37 
			  11 23 
			  12 96 
			  13 16 
			  14 4 
			  15 135 
			  16 184 
			  17 20 
			  18 29 
			  19 134 
			  20 62 
			  21 217 
			
			 2007-08 1 74 
			  2 20 
			  3 59 
			  4 143 
			  5 7 
			  6 41 
			  7 1 
			  8 323 
			  9 329 
			  10 15 
			  11 9 
			  12 15 
			  13 9 
			  14 59 
			  15 257 
			  16 7 
			  17 3 
			  18 7 
			  19 8 
			
			 2008-09 1 23 
			  2 578 
			  3 7 
			  4 88 
			  5 47 
			  6 72 
			  7 23 
			  8 22 
			  9 23 
			  10 104 
			  11 122 
			  12 375 
			  13 70 
			  14 82 
			  15 201 
			  16 78 
			  17 115 
			
			 2009-10 to date 1 17 
			  2 12 
			  3 55 
			  4 18 
			  5 121 
			  6 26 
			  7 46 
			  8 49 
			  9 106 
			  10 40 
			  Note: These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system. 
		
	
	Figures on absconds and a range of other prison performance statistics are available on:
	http://www.hmprisonservice.gov.uk/abouttheservice/prisonperformance/performancestatistics/

Legal Aid

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many legal aid lawyers working in  (a) family,  (b) housing,  (c) employment and  (d) immigration law were available in each procurement area in each year since 2000.

Bridget Prentice: The tables containing the information requested have been placed in the Library of both Houses.

Legal Aid: Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many applications there have been for  (a) civil and  (b) criminal legal aid from residents of Newcastle upon Tyne in the last five years.

Bridget Prentice: Applications for civil legal aid help and advice are made to individual providers. Existing data collection arrangements record the number of instances of advice provided, rather than the number of applications made.
	Applications for civil legal aid representation are made to the Legal Services Commission (LSC). The LSC collects data on the number of applications submitted to providers located within the local authority area for Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and this is broken down for each of the past five financial years in table 1 as follows. A proportion of these applications will come from individuals resident outside Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
	
		
			  Table 1: Applications for civil legal aid representation in the local authority area of Newcastle-upon-Tyne 
			  FY  Number 
			 2004-05 1,560 
			 2005-06 1,580 
			 2006-07 1,660 
			 2007-08 1,600 
			 2008-09 1,740 
		
	
	Applications for criminal legal aid cannot be identified on the basis of postcode information so it is not possible to provide details of applications submitted from residents in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. However, the LSC can identify the numbers of legal aid applications submitted to Newcastle-upon-Tyne magistrates court since means testing was introduced in October 2006, and these are set out in table 2. These applications include those submitted from defendants charged with an indictable only offence and facing trial before Newcastle-upon-Tyne Crown court. Some of these applications will have been submitted on behalf of individuals who do not reside in Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
	
		
			  Table 2: Legal aid applications submitted to Newcastle-upon-Tyne magistrates court 
			  October to September each year  Number 
			 2006-07 6,290 
			 2007-08 6,700 
			 2008-09 6,880

Offenders: Electronic Tagging

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what proportion of electronically monitored offenders on  (a) community sentences,  (b) bail and  (c) release from prison licence (i) deliberately tampered with their tag and (ii) breached their curfew in each year since electronic monitoring was introduced.

Maria Eagle: We are able to provide data for those electronically tagged, for the last two years. This is shown in the following table. Earlier data are no longer available and obtaining that information would be possible only at disproportionate cost. The table includes the proportion of those who have tampered with their tags or breached their curfews, which are also new starts. These figures represent a percentage of electronic monitoring orders received by the service providers and not individuals.
	The data provided are from the electronic monitoring service providers. The information held refers to breaches reported to the courts or to the relevant authority such as probation service, Prison Service, Youth Offending Service, or police, and does not necessarily relate to breach action taken.
	
		
			   Community sentence  Bail  Post release 
			  April 2007-March 2008
			 Number of tag tampers 3,250 1,583 703 
			 Proportion who were new starts (percentage) 6.5 6.1 4.5 
			 
			 Number of curfew breaches excluding tag tampers 11,017 10,629 2,144 
			 Proportion who were new starts (percentage) 22.1 42.6 14.0 
			 
			  April 2008-March 2009
			 Number of tag tampers 3,639 1,580 624 
			 Proportion who were new starts (percentage) 6.6 5.2 4.1 
			 
			 Number of curfew breaches excluding tag tampers 12,664 11,722 2,418 
			 Proportion who were new starts (percentage) 23.1 38.9 16.0

Office for Criminal Justice Reform

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many first time entrants into the criminal justice system there were in each local authority area in each year since 1997.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 30 November 2009
	 I have been asked to reply.
	The data on first time entrants (FTE) to the criminal justice system from 1997 to 1999 are currently unavailable in this format.
	FTE data from 2000-01 to 2008-09, by local authority, are published at table 2 here:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/STR/d000895/index.shtml

Open Prisons

John Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many prisoners convicted of murder are held in open prisons;
	(2)  how many prisoners serving life sentences are held in open prisons.

Maria Eagle: At the end of June 2009, the last date for which data is available, there were some 360 life prisoners, including 260 prisoners convicted of murder detained in exclusively open prisons in all the prison establishments in England and Wales.
	Prisoners are assessed objectively in a process looking at all aspects of their offending behaviour, actions they have taken to reduce their likelihood of reoffending, and the risk they pose to the public. They are placed in the lowest security category consistent with their assessed risk. Only prisoners placed in the lowest security category (D) may be allocated open conditions.
	Transfer of any prisoner to open conditions will only take place if continued detention in closed conditions is no longer necessary for the protection of the public. Open conditions allow prisoners to find work, re-establish family ties and reintegrate into the community. All these are essential components for successful resettlement and an important factor in protecting the public.
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing, and have been rounded to the nearest 10.

Prison Accommodation

John Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what criteria are used to determine whether a prisoner is eligible to be held at open prison; and whether a conviction for premeditated murder is an automatic bar to being so held.

Maria Eagle: There is a well established categorisation and allocation system which aims to ensure that all prisoners are allocated to a prison with a security category consistent with managing their needs in terms of security and control. The categorisation process assesses the risks posed by individual prisoners in terms of: likelihood of escape or abscond; the risk of harm to the public in the event of an escape or abscond and any control issues that impact on the security of the prison and those within it. The risk assessment will take account of issues including: the nature and circumstances of the index offence, any previous convictions, positive and successful efforts to reduce identified risk levels.
	Prisoners convicted of pre-meditated murder cannot be held in open prisons on their initial categorisation decision, but may be transferred to open prison conditions at a later stage as part of their sentence progression. Convicted murderers serving life sentences and other indeterminate sentence prisoners will be transferred from closed to open prison conditions only following the decisions of the independent Parole Board. Before making such a decision, the Parole Board must be satisfied that the case meets the criteria set out in the Directions to the Parole Board under section 32(6) of the Criminal Justice Act 1991.

Prisoner Escapes

John Gummer: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether convicted murderers serving life sentences are considered to be at a high risk of absconding from open prisons.

Maria Eagle: Any prisoner considered to present a high risk of absconding from open prisons will be held in closed conditions pending further assessments of risk, and systems are in place to achieve this.

Prisoner Escapes

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners have escaped from custody  (a) during transfer between prisons and  (b) in other circumstances in each month of the last five years.

Maria Eagle: There have been two escapes on an inter-prison transfer in the past five years. These occurred in October 2005 and March 2006.
	The following data show the number of prisoners who have escaped from custody in England and Wales between April 2004 and December 2008. The number of escapes from custody has been falling since 1995 when centrally collated records began; this is against the backdrop of an increasing prison population.
	
		
			  Prisoners escaping from custody between 1 April 2004 to 31 December 2008 by month of escape according to type of escape 
			   Number of escapes from establishment  Number of escapes from prison service escort  Number of escapes from contractor escort 
			 April 2004 - 2 3 
			 May 2004 1 2 3 
			 June 2004 - - 2 
			 July 2004 1 1 1 
			 August 2004 1 - 1 
			 September 2004 2 - 4 
			 October 2004 1 1 1 
			 November 2004 1 - 3 
			 December 2004 3 1 4 
			 January 2005 - - 1 
			 February 2005 2 - 3 
			 March 2005 - 1 2 
			 April 2005 - 1 3 
			 May 2005 - 1 - 
			 June 2005 - - 3 
			 July 2005 - 2 - 
			 August 2005 1 - 1 
			 September 2005 - - 3 
			 October 2005 - 3 1 
			 January 2006 2 - - 
			 February 2006 - 1 2 
			 March 2006 - - 4 
			 June 2006 1 - 2 
			 July 2006 - - 2 
			 August 2006 - - 1 
			 September 2006 1 - 3 
			 October 2006 - - 1 
			 November 2006 - - 2 
			 December 2006 - - 2 
			 January 2007 - 1 1 
			 February 2007 - - 3 
			 March 2007 - - 2 
			 April 2007 - - 2 
			 May 2007 - - 1 
			 June 2007 - - 1 
			 August 2007 1 - 3 
			 September 2007 2 - 1 
			 October 2007 - 1 2 
			 November 2007 - - 2 
			 December 2007 - - 1 
			 January 2008 - 1 2 
			 March 2008 1 - 1 
			 April 2008 - - 3 
			 May 2008 - 1 1 
			 June 2008 - - 1 
			 October 2008 - 1 2 
			 November 2008 - 1 1 
			 December 2008 - - 3 
			  Notes: 1. Data on escapes from contractor escorts include escorts from police station to court as these are carried out by National Offender Management Service contractors. These figures do not include other police-related escort escapes such as escapes while been transported from point of arrest to police station or transport between police stations. 2. All figures shown are for key performance indicator Escapes recorded as part of the NOMS performance management system.

Prisons: Operating Costs

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the estimated capital cost is of building each of the 1,500 place prisons his Department has proposed as an alternative to Titan prisons.

Jack Straw: It is estimated that the capital cost of constructing five 1,500 place prisons at 2008-09 prices is around £1.2 billion, excluding VAT and site purchase costs.

Residence Orders: Guardianship

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many children in  (a) Newcastle upon Tyne and  (b) each region and country of the UK were on (i) residence orders and (ii) guardianship orders (A) in each of the last five years and (B) at the latest date for which information is available.

Bridget Prentice: The number of children on a residence order or special guardianship order at any point in time is not held centrally. The number of residence orders and special guardianship orders made by courts in England and Wales in the last five years is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of residence and special guardianship orders made, 2004 to June 2009 
			   Court  Region 
			   Newcastle  London  Midlands  North East  North West  South East  South West  Wales  England and Wales 
			  Public Law  
			  Residence Orders  
			 2004 - - - - - - - - 2,765 
			 2005 - - - - - - - - 2,739 
			 2006 - - - - - - - - 2,688 
			 2007 95 333 263 818 353 421 292 107 2,587 
			 2008 59 248 418 734 361 508 381 93 2,743 
			 January to June 2009 22 104 160 308 153 207 145 52 1,129 
			   
			  Special Guardianship Orders  
			 2004 - - - - - - - - - 
			 2005 - - - - - - - - - 
			 2006 12 88 77 62 79 92 58 17 473 
			 2007 24 99 100 136 148 116 85 40 724 
			 2008 20 157 83 179 191 162 108 48 928 
			 January to June 2009 18 67 54 77 107 56 40 21 422 
			   
			  Private Law  
			  Residence Orders  
			 2004 - - - - - - - - 25,904 
			 2005 - - - - - - - - 24,335 
			 2006 - - - - - - - - 23,185 
			 2007 210 2,888 4,333 4,234 4,008 4,196 3,036 1,390 24,085 
			 2008 195 2,882 4,571 4,510 3,831 4,385 3,128 1,619 24,926 
			 January to June 2009 58 1,285 2,358 2,174 2,018 2,204 1,600 708 12,347 
			   
			  Special Guardianship Orders  
			 2004 - - - - - - - - - 
			 2005 - - - - - - - - - 
			 2006 1 23 29 13 12 46 22 13 158 
			 2007 2 61 52 53 47 118 45 28 404 
			 2008 17 72 68 51 88 127 64 37 507 
			 January to June 2009 7 61 47 33 44 82 34 33 334 
			  Notes:  1. Figures relate to the number of children subject to each order. More than one order may be made per child each year.  2. There have been data quality issues with figures for the family proceedings courts and a new method of data collection was introduced in April 2007 which has improved the level and accuracy of recording compared with previous years. For this reason regional and court level figures are not available pre-2007 and comparisons at a national level between pre and post 2007 figures should only be made with caution.  3. Figures are for special guardianship orders made in county and High Courts only. Separate figures for all family proceedings courts are not currently collected. Special guardianship orders came into force on 30 December 2005.  4. County court figures and figures for those family proceedings courts sharing administration with county courts are extracted from FamilyMan, a live system that is continually updated. Therefore figures may differ slightly from those previously published.  Source:  HMCS FamilyMan system and manual returns.

Sentencing: Ex-servicemen

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether veterans are identified as such on reception into custody; and what assistance his Department provides for such veterans.

Maria Eagle: Prisoners are routinely asked for details of their employment history as part of the prison induction process. Prison assessment procedures are being revised to include more specific questions to identify offenders who have served in the armed forces.
	The Ministry of Defence works with third sector organisations and across Government to raise awareness among ex-service personnel of the help and support available to them and their families while they serve their sentence and prepare for release. Leaflets and posters have recently been distributed to prison establishments giving contact details of the Service Personnel and Veterans Agency (SPVA), The Royal British Legion (TRBL), Soldiers Sailors Airmen and Families Association (SSAFA) Forces Help and Combat Stress and the types of support provided by these agencies. These include access to welfare officers; treatment for anxiety, post traumatic stress and sleep disorders; financial assistance; and help with rent, clothing, training, relocation and employment. The MoD funded Medical Assessment Programme is available for specialist military mental health advice for veterans in prison referred to them by prison medial staff. The programme has been extended to include reservists' mental health for those who have deployed since 2003.

Sentencing: Ex-servicemen

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assistance veterans handed down a custodial sentence are given by the Prison Service while serving their sentence.

Maria Eagle: Posters, leaflets and guides are available to governors and prison officers to help them to signpost veterans to the range of support services provided by Government and voluntary organisations. This includes Ministry of Defence funded mental health services and voluntary organisations providing resettlement support to veterans and their families. Many Governors have chosen to appoint a local point of contact for co-ordinating and promoting the services. A new guide: Veterans in Custody Support-A Guide will shortly be distributed to all prison establishments. This will be backed by training and support in the form of networking events and visits to establishments, during the period January to March 2010.
	To complement veteran specific services, the Prison Service has access to 102 mental health in reach teams and provides a portfolio of interventions, containing 14 offending behaviour programmes, six drug programmes five therapeutic communities and a dangerous and severe personality disorder programme.
	Officials are currently matching Ministry of Justice data on prisoners with Ministry of Defence data on veterans to find both the scale and scope of the issue of veterans in custody. This data will allow us to examine paths into offending and consider whether more specific services need to be developed for veterans in prisons.

TREASURY

Banks

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total monetary value was of  (a) guarantees,  (b) net capital injections and  (c) asset purchases by his Department in respect of banks in each year since 2007, and as percentage of gross domestic product in 2009 to date.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I refer my hon. Friend to the written answer I gave to my right hon. Friend the Member for Oldham, West and Royton (Mr. Meacher) on 9 September 2009,  Official Report, column 1924W.

Bradford and Bingley and Northern Rock

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was spent on fees and payments in the valuation exercise for  (a) Bradford and Bingley shares and  (b) Northern Rock shares when they were acquired by the Government.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The terms of appointment for the independent valuers appointed for the purposes of the Northern Rock plc and Bradford and Bingley plc compensation schemes, which include the arrangements for the payment of remuneration and reimbursement of expenses are available on the Treasury website:
	www.hm-treasury.gov.uk.

Child Care Vouchers

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many women have received childcare vouchers in  (a) the UK,  (b) England,  (c) the North East and  (d) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency in each year since their introduction.

Stephen Timms: Published research, commissioned by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in 2005, by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) estimated that 69 per cent. of the employees receiving Employer Supported Childcare (ESC) are women (Table 4.6, Page 49). NatCen's report is available at
	www.hmrc.gov.uk/research/research-report23.htm
	The report also estimates the number of eligible employees offered employer supported childcare in late 2005 and that childcare vouchers represent the majority of the provision of ESC. Using these estimates along with the eligible employee take up rate for those offered ESC (on page 44) shows that approximately 63,200 women were receiving childcare vouchers at the end of 2005. Information for other time periods is not available.
	The report also estimates the proportion of employers that offer ESC split by Government office region (Table A.7, Appendix A, page 19). From this, an estimated 85 per cent. of employers offered ESC are based in England and 1 per cent. in the North East of England. No such estimate is available for the constituency Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland.
	These numbers should be treated with caution as the employee take up rate and use of vouchers over other forms of ESC would likely vary from region to region and this does not account for employees working in one region and living in another. All of these estimates are subject to very wide confidence intervals due to random sampling.

Child Trust Fund: Wales

Jessica Morden: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many child trust funds have been opened for children resident in  (a) Newport East constituency and  (b) Wales since their introduction.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The most recent constituency and regional level statistics on child trust fund accounts can be viewed on HM Revenue and Customs' website:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/ctf/cons-stats-nov09.pdf
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/child_trust_funds/dda-2009.htm

Departmental Internet

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many  (a) page hits and  (b) visitors his Department's website received in 2008-09.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Page views and unique visitors for the Department website for the period November 2008 to November 2009 are as follows:
	Page views: 11,709,412
	Unique visitors: 2,086,396
	Statistics prior to October 2008 are unavailable due to the migration of the department website to centrally hosted servers.

Departmental Internet

Oliver Heald: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the cost was of maintaining his Department's website in the 2008-09 financial year; and what the forecast cost is of maintaining websites within his responsibility in the 2009-10 financial year.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The costs of maintaining the Departmental website are as follows:
	www.hm-treasury.gov.uk
	
		
			  Financial year  Maintenance costs (£) 
			 2008-09 168,549 
		
	
	Maintenance costs include direct costs, for example web hosting, support, and infrastructure.
	The forecast cost for maintaining websites within the Chancellor of the Exchequer's responsibility in the 2009-10 financial year are as follows:
	
		
			  Financial year  Website  Forecast costs (£) 
			 2009-10 http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk 185,193 
			 2009-10 http://www.isb.gov.uk 0 
			 2009-10 http://www.gfp.gov.uk 0 
			 2009-10 http://www.ogc.gov.uk 216,277 
			 2009-10 http://www.dmo.gov.uk 47,000 
		
	
	These figures do not include any redevelopment costs associated with the web sites in question.
	Under the Transformational Government strategy to rationalise websites the Invest to Save Budget website is being integrated into the HM Treasury site, therefore no costs are associated with this site. The Government Finance Profession website is supported by sponsorship therefore there is no cost to HM Treasury.

Departmental Legislation

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what criminal offences have been  (a) abolished and  (b) created by primary legislation sponsored by his Department since 1 May 2008.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: No offences were abolished during the relevant period.
	The following offences were created during the relevant period.
	All of these were created under the Banking Act 2009 (c.1), which received Royal Assent on 12 February 2009. These offences comprise:
	Section 153(4) - failure without reasonable excuse to provide the FSA a copy of a notice regarding successful rescue;
	Section 199(4) - failure to comply with an order to close a payment system;
	Section 200(3) - breach of a prohibition on being the operator of a recognised inter-bank system;
	Section 204(10) - failure without reasonable excuse to comply with a requirement to supply information / to knowingly or recklessly give false information;
	Section 205(1) - pretending to be a recognised inter-bank payment system;
	Section 221(1)-unlawful issue of banknotes in Scotland or Northern Ireland;
	Parts 2 and 3 (bank insolvency and bank administration) - sections 389 and 430 to 432 of the Insolvency Act 1986 are applied, which create new offences as they are applied to the insolvency procedures under the Banking Act.

Departmental Lost Property

Grant Shapps: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many  (a) laptop computers,  (b) mobile telephones,  (c) items of office furniture and  (d) works of art have been (i) lost by and (ii) stolen from his Department in each of the last three year; whether his Department has made an insurance claim on each such item; and what the estimated value of each such item was.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: In respect of the numbers of  (a) laptop computers and  (b) mobile telephones lost by and stolen from the Department, I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave to the hon. Member Putney (Justine Greening) on 12 October 2009,  Official Report, column 250W.
	No  (c) items of office furniture and  (d) works of art have been lost by, or stolen from, the Department in the last three years.
	In accordance with value for money guidance to all central government organisations, HM Treasury does not take out commercial insurance against these risks.
	The estimated value of each laptop is £600 and of each mobile telephone is £50.

Departmental Taxis

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many miles  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials in his Department have travelled by taxi in the course of their official duties in each year since 1997; and at what cost to the public purse in each such year.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The information requested on mileage could not be provided within the disproportionate costs threshold. Spending on taxis/private hire in 2008-09 was £219,000 and in 2007-08 £216,000. For information on spending in earlier years I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the former Exchequer Secretary, my hon. Friend the Member for Wallasey (Angela Eagle) on 26 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1922W to the hon. Member for Hertford  Stortford (Mr. Prisk).

Departmental Training

Grant Shapps: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what training sessions were attended by  (a) Ministers and  (b) special advisers in his Department at public expense in each of the last three years.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Any bespoke training that Ministers require is made available as necessary. There is no central provision for training special advisers.

Departmental Travel

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what date he last travelled by  (a) bus and  (b) taxi in the course of his official duties.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Treasury Ministers, including the Chancellor, have used various forms of public transport in the course of their ministerial duties over the last year.

Driving

Stephen Ladyman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what mechanisms are in place to ensure that staff who drive  (a) a vehicle for which (i) his Department and (ii) one of its executive agencies is responsible have valid driving licences and  (b) their own vehicles in the course of their official duties for (A) his Department and (B) one of its executive agencies have valid driving licences and insurance; what guidance is issued to those staff in respect of road safety while carrying out official duties; what steps are taken to monitor compliance with that guidance; what requirements there are on such staff to report to their line managers accidents in which they are involved while driving in the course of their official duties; and whether such reports are investigated.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The travel guidance issued to staff in HM Treasury and the Debt Management Office requires that driving licences are checked when a member of staff first hires a vehicle for official business and they are subsequently re-checked on an annual basis. Where a member of staff uses their own vehicle on official business, when making a claim for reimbursement of their expenses they acknowledge that they have valid insurance for business use that also covers passengers, possess a valid driving licence, maintain the vehicle in a roadworthy condition and, where appropriate, have a valid MOT certificate and maintain the vehicle in accordance with the manufacturer's schedule. It is the claimant's line manager's responsibility to verify the insurance status of the claimant and any material changes to the insurance should be reported to the line manager.
	When opting to drive on business, employees are reminded that-on long journeys, a break of 15 to 20 minutes should be taken every two hours, the driver should ensure that they are familiar with the controls, particularly in hire vehicles, before setting off, and that it is illegal to use a mobile telephone while driving, and they should switch them off to avoid the possibility of distraction. Officials and line managers are required to report all accidents and incidents that occur during the course of work. This includes accidents whilst driving on official business. Any reported incidents involving injury are investigated and compliance is normally monitored through internal audit procedures.

Financial Institutions: Pay

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will introduce legislative proposals to limit the remuneration of hedge fund directors.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Government have no plans to introduce legislative proposals to limit the remuneration of hedge fund directors.
	However, the Government have taken steps to ensure that remuneration paid at systemically significant financial institutions is commensurate with a prudent approach to risk and leads to long-term value creation. The Financial Services Authority code, which comes into force on 1 January 2010, includes requirements for deferral and clawback from significant banking and other institutions. In addition, the Government are taking legislative measures in the Financial Services Bill that will bestow a duty on the FSA to ensure remuneration is consistent with effective risk management and will enable improved disclosure of remuneration, which in turn will facilitate better shareholder oversight of risk.
	The FSA will review its Rule and Code during 2010.

Financial Services

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate has been made of the amount of tax allowable losses of banks and financial services companies which will be carried forward from the 2008-09 financial year; and for how many years those losses will be allowable against tax.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave him on 27 October 2009,  Official Report, column 275W.

Financial Services

Michael Fallon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the latest estimate is of the UK market share of the top five companies in  (a) retail banking,  (b) corporate banking,  (c) mortgages,  (d) insurance and re-insurance,  (e) government bonds,  (f) currencies and  (g) credit swaps and derivatives.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: holding answer 1 December 2009
	The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Immobilisation of Vehicles

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much his Department has paid in vehicle clamping charges incurred on  (a) privately-owned and  (b) publicly-owned land in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Treasury does not keep a central record of such charges and provision of the information could not be provided within the disproportionate costs threshold.

Northern Rock

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much he has repaid Northern Rock following an overcharge from the Treasury to Northern Rock; and how that overcharge came to be made.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Treasury's resource accounts for 2008-09 (HC 611) reported that the terms of the Government's loan to Northern Rock will change retrospectively to 1 April 2008 following state aid approval, which was received last month.
	The financial implications for Northern Rock as a result of the change will be set out in the company's 2009 annual report and accounts.

Northern Rock: Compensation

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he expects the independent valuer to report on what compensation is payable as a result of the transfer of shares in Northern Rock plc to his Department.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Brecon and Radnorshire (Mr. Williams) on 26 October 2009,  Official Report, column 73W.

Public Expenditure: Scotland

Adam Ingram: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what funding has been provided to the Scottish Executive as Barnett consequentials in relation to the promotion and use of renewable energy sources in each of the last five years.

Liam Byrne: holding answer 30 November 2009
	The Barnett formula has been applied to changes in provision of UK Government Departments in spending reviews over the last five years. The Barnett formula is applied to the aggregate changes in provision of Departments. Details are provided in spending review White Papers. Under the Barnett formula arrangements the Scottish Executive receives an unhypothecated block budget which it then allocates reflecting its own priorities. Details of spending by UK Government Departments can be found in their departmental reports. So while the Scottish Executive has received Barnett consequentials on spending on renewable energy sources these are not separately calculated or identified in its spending review settlements.

Public Expenditure: Wales

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what date he agreed to the introduction of a spending base in respect of Barnett formula funding for Wales; and if he will place in the Library a copy of his correspondence with the Secretary of State for Wales on that matter.

Liam Byrne: The operation of the Barnett formula is set out in the Statement of Funding Policy published by the Treasury in October 2007. In addition the Secretary of State for Wales announced to Parliament on 26 November 2009 arrangements for assessing spending trends in the next spending review.

Sony Ericsson: Government Assistance

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what tax credit assistance the Government has provided to Sony Ericsson in the last 12 months.

Ian Pearson: We are unable to provide information relating to individual taxpayers' affairs.

Taxation

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the revenue which will be raised by the changes to tax reliefs announced in the written ministerial statement of 21 October 2009,  Official Report, column 57WS, on anti-avoidance.

Stephen Timms: The written ministerial statement of 21 October 2009,  Official Report, column 57WS, announced changes to legislation to counter four tax avoidance schemes with immediate effect. The Government estimate that closing these schemes down will yield £300 million by 2012-13, while also protecting over £1 billion of revenue.

Taxation: Aviation

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many aeroplanes in the UK are exempt from air passenger duty; and how many of them are privately-owned.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Air passenger duty (APD) is calculated on the number of passengers on board a flight on its take off from a UK airport. No tax is due on flights without passengers.
	Exemptions apply for certain categories of passengers, including cabin crew and children under two who are not allocated their own seat. Flights that depart from an airport in the Scottish Highlands and Islands are also exempt.
	Aircraft certified as having an authorised take off weight of less than 10 tonnes, or that are equipped to carry fewer than 20 passengers, are outside the scope of the tax, and consequently not liable to air passenger duty. We cannot say how many aircraft are outside the scope of APD; however, the Civil Aviation Authority publishes details of UK registered aircraft at:
	http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?catid=56pagetype=90pageid=107
	We do not have information on how many aircraft are privately-owned.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Bankruptcy

Vincent Cable: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many individual bankruptcy petitions in which council tax arrears were mentioned as a significant reason were received by the Official Receiver in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Lucas: According to our database, the number of individual bankruptcy orders which are recorded as being made upon the petition of a local authority for each of the last five years ending 31 March were:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2008-09 3,821 
			 2007-08 3,874 
			 2006-07 3,959 
			 2005-06 3,964 
			 2004-05 3,117 
		
	
	In the majority of bankruptcy cases where a creditor presents a petition, often referred to as a creditor's petition bankruptcy, the petitioner is a single creditor. This creditor may not be the majority creditor. A local authority may also be a creditor in a creditor's petition bankruptcy case where it is not the petitioning creditor.
	The number of cases cited above does not include cases where an individual presented their own bankruptcy petition, often referred to as a debtor's petition bankruptcy, where the local authority may have been one of their creditors. Such information is not readily available, but in any event it is unlikely in such cases that a debt to a local authority will have been a significant factor as compared with debts owed to other creditors.
	I will not be making a statement on this.

Foreign Workers

John Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what his most recent estimate is of the proportion of the workforce who are non-UK nationals in each region.

Dawn Butler: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Jil Matheson, dated December 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what the most recent estimate is of the proportion of the workforce who are non-UK nationals in each region. (302567)
	The information requested is shown in the attached table. The estimates are derived from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). As with any sample survey, estimates from the LPS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	The figures in the table are derived from the LFS microdata which are weighted using the official population estimates published in autumn 2007. They are not entirely consistent with the figures published in the monthly Labour Market Statistical Bulletin, which is weighted using more up-to-date population estimates.
	
		
			  Proportion of economically active( 1)  people aged 16 and over who are non-UK nationals, by region, three month period ending September 2009-Not seasonally adjusted 
			  Region  Percentage 
			 North East 4 
			 North West 6 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 4 
			 East Midlands 5 
			 West Midlands 6 
			 East of England 7 
			 London 24 
			 South East 7 
			 South West 5 
			 Wales 4 
			 Scotland 5 
			 Northern Ireland 6 
			 United Kingdom 8 
			 (1) Economically active people in employment plus those unemployed.  Note: It should be noted that the above estimates exclude people in most types of communal establishment (e.g. hotels, boarding houses, hostels, mobile home sites etc.)  Source: Labour Force Survey

Foreign Workers

John Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what his most recent estimate is of the proportion of the workforce engaged in unskilled labour who are non-UK nationals.

Dawn Butler: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Jil Matheson, dated December 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking what the most recent estimate is of the proportion of the workforce engaged in unskilled labour who are non-UK nationals. (302568)
	In terms of the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) unskilled labour relates to those people classified to the Elementary Occupations group.
	The most recent estimates are for the three-month period July-September 2009 and show that 13 percent of those people aged 16 and over employed in Elementary Occupations were non-UK nationals. The estimate is derived from the Labour Force Survey (LFS). As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty.
	The Figure is derived from the EFS microdata which are weighted using the official population estimates published in autumn 2007. They are not entirely consistent with the figures published in the monthly Labour Market Statistical Bulletin, which is weighted using more up-to-date population estimates.

Insolvency: Complaints

Michael Weir: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many complaints have been received by  (a) the Insolvency Service and  (b) the Accountant in Bankruptcy in respect of insolvency practitioners and administrators in each of the last 10 years.

Ian Lucas: The Insolvency Service does not hold the information requested.
	The vast majority of insolvency practitioners are regulated by one of seven recognised professional bodies. Any complaint about the conduct of an insolvency practitioner is directed towards and dealt with by the appropriate recognised professional body.
	The Insolvency Service published its first Annual Review of Insolvency Practitioner Regulation in June 2009. Information regarding the number of complaints received by the recognised professional bodies is contained within that report, and indicates that during 2008 a total of 828 complaints were received. Of those complaints, 197 related to insolvency practitioners acting as administrators.
	The Insolvency Service intends to publish such a report on an annual basis in the future.
	The Accountant in Bankruptcy is directly accountable to Ministers of the Scottish Parliament and does not therefore fall within the remit of this Department.

Manufacturing Industries

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  what assistance the Government has provided to the manufacturing sector in  (a) the UK and  (b) the West Midlands in the last 12 months;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the size of contraction in the manufacturing sector since the start of the recession in  (a) the UK and  (b) the West Midlands.

Ian Lucas: The Manufacturing Strategy launched in September 2008 brings together over £150 million support for a range of policy measures that address key issues impacting on competitiveness such as skills, design, technology, global value chains and the move to a low carbon economy. Work is also well under way to complete a new purpose-built Manufacturing Technology Centre at Ansty, near Coventry, which will provide industrial-scale demonstration facilities to help industry develop new manufacturing capabilities.
	The Advanced Manufacturing package of measures announced in July 2009 provides more than £150 million from the Strategic Investment Fund to support the development of high tech manufacturing that will enable UK manufacturers to take advantage of new market opportunities.
	Over the last 12 months, the Government have also launched the Real Help for Business package, and the Vehicle Scrappage Scheme where more than a quarter of a million orders for new vehicles have been placed, 9 per cent. of which were in the West Midlands.
	The recently expanded Manufacturing Advisory Service has conducted 31,000 manufacturing reviews and supported more than 11,000 implementation projects worth nearly £700 million value added. Support in the West Midlands over the past year was worth £7.5 million.
	In addition, Advantage West Midlands has provided assistance worth just over £54 million to manufacturers in the West Midlands over the last 12 months, including a £3.5 million boost for the automotive supply chain announced in July.
	Based on ONS's latest Index of Production (IOP) data, manufacturing output in the UK declined 15.3 per cent. from peak to trough (February 2008 to August 2009), however there are no comparable data for manufacturing output in the West Midlands over the same time period.
	In the UK, during the three months to June 2008 there were 2.87 million employee jobs in the manufacturing industry, while in the three months to June 2009 there were 2.64 million, a fall of 7.9 per cent. This compares to the West Midlands where there were 322,000 employee jobs in the manufacturing industry in the three months to June 2008, while in the three months to June 2009 there were 284,000, a fall of 11.8 per cent.

Motor Vehicles: Manufacturing Industries

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how many cars emitting less than  (a) 120g/km and  (b) 100g/km of carbon dioxide have been purchased under the Vehicle Scrappage Scheme to date.

Ian Lucas: As at 30 November, for the completed scrappage transactions where we have data on carbon dioxide emissions, 35.7 per cent. have emissions in the range 100-119 g/km and 1.2 per cent. have emissions below l00 grams.

Research: Government Assistance

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how much funding the Government has provided for research and development in the last 12 months.

David Lammy: In 2007, Government (including Higher Education Funding Councils and Research Councils) funded £7.7 billion (30 per cent. of all) R and D performed in the UK.
	 Source:
	Office for National Statistics (ONS)

Sony Ericsson: Government Assistance

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills what grant assistance the Government has provided to Sony Ericsson in the last 12 months.

Ian Lucas: While Advantage West Midlands, the regional development agency for the west midlands discussed the possibility of grants such as Selective Finance for Investment (SFI) to facilitate the consolidation of Ericsson's R and D facilities at Ansty, Ericsson chose not to take up the offer of support.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Carbon Emissions

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will place in the Library a copy of each table from which  (a) Chart 24 and  (b) Chart 25 in the Analytical Annex to the Low Carbon Transition Plan were produced.

Joan Ruddock: The data will be placed in the Libraries of the House.

Climate Change: Research

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to the answer of 14 October 2009,  Official Report, columns 990-91W, on climate change: research, how much his Department has spent on modelling work into the environmental consequences of  (a) injecting sulphate aerosols into the stratosphere,  (b) encouraging low level cloud development to increase regional reflectivity and  (c) other forms of geo-engineering.

Joan Ruddock: The amount of funding that the Department of Energy and Climate Change has spent on modelling work into the environmental consequences of different types of geo-engineering is:
	 (a) injecting sulphate aerosols into the stratosphere: £80,000;
	 (b) encouraging low level cloud development to increase regional reflectivity: £60,000; and
	 (c) other forms of geo-engineering: £15,000.

Climate Change: Research

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent discussions he has had with representatives of the University of East Anglia Climate Research Unit.

Joan Ruddock: Officials from the Department have had brief discussions with representatives of the University of East Anglia and its Climatic Research Unit to understand the nature of the attack on its IT systems and the actions they are planning to take.

Combined Heat and Power: EU Law

Andrew Love: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps his Department has taken to implement EU Directive 2004/8/EC on the promotion of cogeneration; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: The UK has implemented EU Directive 2004/8/EC in Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Details of how the directive has been implemented as at October 2007 were contained in a report to the European Commission published on the DECC website under the title Evaluation of progress towards increasing share of high-efficiency cogeneration.

Departmental Manpower

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Tunbridge Wells (Greg Clark) of 12 October 2009,  Official Report, column 456W, on departmental buildings, what the job titles are of the 25 London-based staff in premises other than 3 Whitehall Place.

Joan Ruddock: Staff concerned with the Department's non-proliferation responsibilities are currently housed in 1 Victoria street. Their job titles cover nuclear non-proliferation, chemical weapons non-proliferation and the delivery of the UK Global Threat Reduction Programme.

Departmental Manpower

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change who the members of his Department's Delivery and Strategy High Level Board are.

Joan Ruddock: The Delivery and Strategy High-Level (DASH) Board has 18 full members covering nine Government Departments with an interest in energy and climate change issues.
	The DASH Board comprises:
	 Chair
	1. Phil Wynn Owen, DECC (the SRO for the Climate Change PSA).
	 Programme Board Chairs
	2. National Programme Board: Paul McIntyre, DECC.
	3. International Programme Board: Will Cavendish, DECC.
	 Departmental Representatives
	4. Simon Virley, DECC.
	5. Peter Betts, DECC.
	6. Graham White, DECC.
	7. David Wagstaff, DECC (Office of Climate Change).
	8. Colin Church, DECC.
	9. Robin Fellgett, Cabinet Office (Domestic).
	10. Chris Martin, HMT.
	11. Richard McCarthy, CLG.
	12. Vicky Bowman/Deborah Bronnert, FCO (job share).
	13. Janice Munday, BIS.
	14. Robin Mortimer, DEFRA.
	15. Richard Hatfield, DfT.
	16. Andrew Steer, DFID.
	 Interdepartmental Analysis
	17. Vicky Pryce, BIS.
	18. Simeon Thornton, DECC.
	 Right to request invite
	19. Michael Jacobs, No. 10 SpAd.
	20. John Ashton, FCO.
	21. Archie Young, Prime Minister's Delivery Unit.

Electricity Generation: Costs

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his most recent estimate is of the average cost of generating 1 MW of electricity by each different generating technology.

David Kidney: The Government have carried out analysis on generation costs in recent years to inform policy decisions. Some of these estimates were published as part of the Energy Review (2006) at:
	http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file32014.pdf
	More recently the Committee on Climate Change (CCC) have published estimated levelised costs (£/MWh, in 2008 prices) associated with 1 MWh of electricity generated, for their December 2008 report at:
	http://www.theccc.org.uk/pdf/TSO-ClimateChange.pdf,
	as set out in table 1 and include construction, operation and maintenance costs and where applicable the cost of carbon allowances (EU emissions trading scheme). Moreover, for nuclear, they also include the costs of decommissioning and waste.
	It should be noted that the estimates of levelised costs for different types of electricity generation are highly sensitive to the assumptions used for capital costs, fuel and EU ETS allowance prices, operating costs, load factor, and other drivers. In reality, there are large uncertainties and ranges around these figures.
	
		
			  Technology  Levelised cost (£/MWh) 2010 
			  Wind plant  
			 Onshore wind (high wind) 65 
			 Offshore wind (high wind) 83 
			  Coal-fired plant  
			 Coal-central fuel 54 
			  Gas-fired plant  
			 CCGT-central fuel 53 
			  Nuclear plant  
			 Nuclear 51 
			  Source:  The Committee on Climate Change (2008) 'Building a low-carbon economy' p189. 
		
	
	The costs of most generation technologies have increased over the past 18 months, primarily due to increases in input prices. Work is ongoing to update Government's cost assumptions for different forms of generation.

Energy Performance Certificates

Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he has made an assessment of the likely effects on the electric heating and heat pump industry of the use of the Standard Assessment Procedure grid carbon dioxide methodology for the purposes of calculating the energy performance of buildings; and if he will meet representatives of the electric heating and heat pump industry to discuss that matter.

Joan Ruddock: The Department is currently examining all responses received to our consultation on the proposed changes to the Standard Assessment Procedure including those from the UK electric heating and heat pump industry. We will examine all the information provided before any decision to amend SAP is taken. Officials have already met with representatives from the electric heating and heat pump industry and a further meeting is scheduled for 14 December.

Energy: Housing

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether he has made an estimate of the energy efficiency savings that would accrue from the application of heating system water treatment cleaners and inhibitors in homes.

Joan Ruddock: Heating system efficiency is determined by the combination of its main components such as the boiler and radiators. Therefore, adding water treatment cleaner or inhibitors does not increase the overall efficiency.
	The application of water treatment cleaners and inhibitors is regarded as good practice within the heating installation industry to ensure the efficiency of the system is maintained over its lifetime, however, we do not hold any data to verify this assertion.

Fuel Poverty: Pensioners

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many and what proportion of pensioner households in  (a) England and  (b) the UK were in fuel poverty (i) in each year since 1997 and (ii) at the latest date for which information is available.

David Kidney: Figures on the number and proportion of fuel poor households containing someone aged 60 or over are shown in the following table. Data on a consistent basis are only available from 2003 to 2007, the latest year for which figures are available.
	
		
			  Age of oldest person in household-60 or over 
			   Fuel poor households 
			  60 or more  Number (1,000) households  Proportion of pensioner households in fuel poverty 
			 2003 634 8.9 
			 2004 604 8.2 
			 2005 794 10.5 
			 2006 1,285 17.0 
			 2007 1,462 18.4 
		
	
	Figures are available for England only.

Low Carbon Buildings Programme

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much has been allocated to the Low Carbon Buildings Programme in  (a) 2009-10,  (b) 2010-11,  (c) 2011-12,  (d) 2012-13 and  (e) 2013-14; and (i) what proportion of funding will be for England, (ii) what carbon dioxide emissions reduction is expected to be achieved, (iii) how many properties will be affected and (iv) how many jobs will be created in each of those years.

Joan Ruddock: holding reply 24 November 2009
	 As at September 2009 the amount of funding allocated to the Low Carbon Buildings Programme in  (a) 2009-10,  (b) 2010-11,  (c) 2011-12,  (d) 2012-13 and  (e) 2013-14 is as shown:
	 Note:
	The LCBP programmes (phase-1 and phase-2) are due to close on 31 March 2011.
	 Allocation  of f unding
	In Budget 2009, an additional £45 million was allocated to the LCBP programme which was allocated as follows:
	
		
			  £ 
			   2009-10  2010-11  2011-12  Total 
			 LCBP-1 (Householders) 1,000,000 5,000,000 0 6,000,000 
			 LCBP-2 (Communities and other not-for-profit etc.) 29,000,000 10,000,000 0 39,000,000 
			 Total 30,000,000 15,000,000 0 45,000,000 
		
	
	 The geographical division of funding
	There is no prescriptive allocation of funding within the programmes for regions or nations as the programmes allocates funding on a first-come-first-served basis. However, using historical information, we estimate that the approximate 'split' of where funding will be made is as follows:
	
		
			   2009-10 (£)  2010-11 (£)  Total (£)  Percentage 
			 England 25,800,000 12,900,000 38,700,000 86 
			 Northern Ireland 600,000 300,000 900,000 2 
			 Scotland 1,500,000 750,000 2,250,000 5 
			 Wales 2,100,000 1,050,000 3,150,000 7 
			 Total 30,000,000 15,000,000 45,000,000 100 
		
	
	 Number of installations
	Based on an estimate of 60 per cent. in 2009-10 and 40 per cent. in 2010-11 to account for the introduction (and therefore closure of the programmes to electrical microgeneration on 31 March 2010) of green energy cash-backs (feed-in tariffs), our forecast for the number of installations is as follows:
	
		
			   Number  
			  Installations  2009-10  2010-11  Total  Percentage 
			 England 6,703 4,469 11,172 91 
			 Northern Ireland 0 0 0 0 
			 Scotland 139 92 231 2 
			 Wales 553 369 922 7 
			 Total 7395 4930 12,325 100 
		
	
	We are unable to make a forecast with regards to Northern Ireland as they are currently undergoing public consultation on their own legislation for a 'FITs equivalent'. We will revise these figures when the outcome in published.
	 Carbon dioxide emission reduction
	It is not possible to give accurate estimates of the anticipated carbon savings attributable to installations in 2009 through to 2011 as this is dependent on the size, efficiency and type of equipment to be specified in future applications, however, since inception of the programmes in early 2007, we estimate that the savings from installed equipment to date is as follows:
	
		
			   Estimated Carbon units (per annum)  Estimated Carbon units (lifetime)  Number of completed installations 
			 LCBP-1 (Householders) 2,555 61,825 8,480 
			 LCBP-2 (Communities, not-for profit etc.) 10,240 224,259 2,845 
			 Total 12,795 286,084 11,325 
		
	
	With an estimate of 12,325 installations in financial year 2009-10 to FY 2010-11, we would anticipate approximately doubling the above savings.
	 Green jobs
	The Department does not hold information on the number of people employed in the microgeneration industry.
	The additional £45 million funding that was allocated to the Low Carbon Buildings Programme in the recent Budget will create jobs and move the microgeneration industry supply chain to a position where it can contribute to achieving the challenging 2020 renewable targets. Our Renewable Energy Strategy consultation estimated that renewable energy could generate 160,000 jobs by 2020, both in the UK and abroad. Since the consultation, research commissioned by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) suggests that the size of the renewable energy sector and of the broader low-carbon and environmental goods and services economy, has been substantially underestimated. Based on the research projections and Labour Force Survey data, we estimate that this strategy, combined with a growing market for renewable energy across Europe and globally, could increase UK employment in the renewable energy sector by up to 500,000 people by 2020. (These projections use a broad definition of the sector and are subject to considerable uncertainty).

Nuclear Power Stations: Bradwell

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will arrange for  (a) an exhibition and  (b) public discussions to be held in Colchester constituency on proposals for a new nuclear power station at Bradwell, Essex.

David Kidney: DECC will be holding both an exhibition and public discussion, as part of its consultation on the draft Nuclear National Policy Statement, at the Mersea centre in West Mersea, Colchester on 10 December. There are more details on the venue on the event's website:
	www.nuclear-nps-events.info

Nuclear Power Stations: Bradwell

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what criteria were used for choosing locations for the exhibition and public discussion on proposals for a new nuclear power station at Bradwell, Essex; and if he will make a statement.

David Kidney: Venues were chosen to be as close to the proposed nuclear power station site and while being as accessible as possible, our priority is to facilitate participation by as many people as possible.
	We took into account a number of principles which helped us in choosing the exhibition location. These included:
	Journey time to proposed site
	Historic evidence of attendance levels to similar consultations
	Existence of multiple proposed sites in one area
	A wide range of venues were considered for each location. Suggested venues have been recommended by local authorities and energy companies (who have undertaken similar events in the past) and we have endeavoured to use as many of these recommendations as possible. A continuous three-day slot that stayed open into the evening was also sought, which meant many venues were unavailable due to regular weekly clubs/fitness programmes etc.
	The priority was finding the largest possible venues, nearest to the site and with as good accessibility to the public as possible.

Renewable Energy

Charles Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what his most recent estimate is of the proportion of UK electricity that will come from renewable sources in 2010.

David Kidney: The most recent estimate, produced for the central scenario of the Low Carbon Transition Plan, is that 7 per cent. of UK electricity will come from renewable sources in 2010.

Sellafield: Floods

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the evacuation plan for Sellafield following the recent floods in Cumbria; and what direct effect the flooding had on the Sellafield site.

David Kidney: Evacuation plans were tested at Sellafield on 24 September 2009 as part of the annual national nuclear exercise and remain fit for purpose.
	There has been no impact on safety and operations at the Sellafield Site, no threat to site facilities and plants have remained operating as normal.

Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what research his Department has  (a) undertaken and  (b) evaluated on the effectiveness of the operation of sections (i) 1 and (ii) 2 of the Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000; what recent discussions he has had with (A) the Chancellor of the Exchequer and (B) other Ministerial colleagues on the effectiveness of the operation of the Act; what recent representations he has received on the operation of the Act; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: As required by section 2 of the Warm Homes and Energy Conservation Act 2000, the Secretary of State published a strategy for reducing fuel poverty in 2001. The Government's latest evaluation of its progress towards the targets is contained in the Strategy was published on 21 October 2009. A copy of that document along with Annual Report on Fuel Poverty Statistics have been placed in the House Library and can also be found on the website of the Department of Energy and Climate Change at:
	http://www.decc.gov.uk/default.aspx
	The Department is undertaking Research into the causes of fuel poverty.
	My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State has regular meetings with my right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer and other colleagues on a wide range of topics.
	On 30 July this year, the Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by Friends of the Earth and Age UK and upheld the decision of the hon. Mr. Justice McCombe that the Secretary of State for DECC is fulfilling his duties under the 2000 Act in respect of tackling fuel poverty. DECC has also recently received correspondence from the Association for the Conservation of Energy requesting information on fuel poverty data.

CABINET OFFICE

Breast Cancer

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many people were diagnosed with breast cancer in  (a) Meriden constituency,  (b) Solihull Metropolitan Borough,  (c) the West Midlands and  (d) England in each year since 1997.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Jil Matheson, dated November 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many people in (a) Meriden constituency, (b) Solihull metropolitan borough, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England and Wales have been diagnosed with breast cancer in each year since 1997.
	The latest available figures for newly diagnosed cases of breast cancer (incidence) are for the year 2007. Please note that these numbers may not be the same as the number of people diagnosed with cancer, because one person may be diagnosed with more than one cancer.
	Table 1 provides the numbers of newly diagnosed cases of breast cancer for each year from 1997 to 2007 for (a) Meriden parliamentary constituency, (b) Solihull metropolitan district, (c) West Midlands government office region and (d) England and Wales.
	
		
			  Table 1. Registrations of newly diagnosed cases of breast cancer( 1) , persons( 2)  (a) Meriden parliamentary constituency, (b) Solihull metropolitan borough, (c) West Midlands government office region and (d) England( 3)  and Wales( 4) , 1997 to 2007( 5) 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Meriden 57 76 90 74 79 90 87 84 93 77 72 
			 Solihull 129 178 199 155 166 192 173 198 184 178 165 
			 West Midlands 3,541 3,657 3,697 3,776 3,790 3,871 4,035 4,050 4,279 4,112 4,229 
			 England and Wales 35,745 36,088 38,021 37,174 37,887 37,910 40,178 40,331 41,091 40,746 40,757 
			 (1 )Breast cancer is coded as C50 in the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). (2 )Around 99 per cent. of breast cancer cases are in women. (3 )Based on boundaries as of 2009. (4 )Figures for Wales provided by the Welsh Cancer Intelligence Surveillance Unit. (5 )Newly diagnosed cases registered in each calendar year.

Business: Wales

Jessica Morden: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many small businesses there were in  (a) Newport East constituency and  (b) Wales in each of the last 12 years.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Jil Matheson, dated November 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question concerning how many small businesses there were in  (a) Newport Fast constituency and  (b) Wales in each of the last 12 years. (303476)
	Annual statistics on business size and location are available from the ONS release on UK Business: Activity, Size and Location. Data relate to March each year and are available from 2000 onwards. The table below contains the enterprise counts for 2000-2009. Small businesses are defined as those with less than 50 employment.
	
		
			   Newport East Constituency  Wales 
			 2000 1,455 82,465 
			 2001 1,435 83,150 
			 2002 1,425 82,690 
			 2003 1,450 81,865 
			 2004 1,470 83,085 
			 2005 1,540 87,195 
			 2006 1,540 88,885 
			 2007 1,580 90,990 
			 2008 1,585 91,750 
			 2009 1,570 90,435

Death: Drugs

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many deaths attributed to the use of anti-psychotic drugs there have been since 1997.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Jil Matheson, dated November 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many deaths have been attributed to the use of anti-psychotic drugs there have been since 1997. (302898)
	The table attached provides the numbers of deaths where the underlying cause was drug poisoning and an anti-psychotic drug was mentioned on the death certificate, either alone or together with other substances, in England and Wales, for the years 1997 to 2008 (the latest year available).
	Where more than one drug is mentioned on the death certificate, it is not always possible to tell which of them was primarily responsible for the death.
	
		
			  Table 1. Number of deaths where drug poisoning was the underlying cause of death,( 1 ) and an anti-psychotic drug was mentioned on the death certificate, England and Wales,( 2 ) 1997 to 2008( 3) 
			   Deaths (persons) 
			 1997 48 
			 1998 57 
			 1999 55 
			 2000 76 
			 2001 70 
			 2002 54 
			 2003 65 
			 2004 79 
			 2005 86 
			 2006 77 
			 2007 82 
			 2008 87 
			 ' Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) for the years 1997-2000 and the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) from 2001 onwards. Deaths were included where the underlying cause was due to drug poisoning (shown in box 1 as follows) and where an anti-psychotic drug was mentioned on the death certificate either alone or together with other substances. (2) Figures for England and Wales include deaths of non-residents. (3) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year. 
		
	
	
		
			  Box 1 
			  Description  ICD-9  ICD-10 
			 Mental and behavioural disorders due to drug use (excluding alcohol and tobacco) 292, 304, 305.2-305.9 F11-F16, F18-F19 
			 Accidental poisoning by drugs, medicaments and biological substances E850-E858 X40-X44 
			 Intentional self-poisoning by drugs, medicaments and biological substances E950.0-E950.5 X60-X64 
			 Assault by drugs, medicaments and biological substances E962.0 X85 
			 Poisoning by drugs, medicaments and biological substances, undetermined intent E980.0-E980.5 Y10-Y14

Death: Sickle Cell Diseases

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many deaths attributed to complications arising from sickle cell anaemia there have been in each year since 1997.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Jil Matheson, dated November 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many deaths attributed to complications arising from sickle cell anaemia there have been in each year since 1997.(302911)
	The table attached provides the number of deaths where sickle-cell anaemia was the underlying cause of death, in England and Wales, for the years 1997 to 2008 (the latest year available).
	
		
			  Table 1. Number of deaths where sickle-cell anaemia was the underlying cause of death, England and Wales, 1997-2008( 1,2,3) 
			   Number 
			 1997 18 
			 1998 13 
			 1999 13 
			 2000 22 
			 2001 20 
			 2002 19 
			 2003 17 
			 2004 16 
			 2005 19 
			 2006 14 
			 2007 17 
			 2008 20 
			 (1) Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) code 282.6 (Sickle-cell anaemia) for the years 1997 to 2000, and Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes D57.0 (Sickle-cell anaemia with crisis) and D57.1 (Sickle-cell anaemia without crisis) for the years 2001 onwards. (2) Figures for England and Wales include deaths of non-residents. (3) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Oliver Heald: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what the cost to her Department was of the provision of office facilities to  (a) special advisers and  (b) press officers in (i) the Prime Minister's Office and (ii) her Department in the 2008-09 financial year.

Angela Smith: The information requested can be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Government Communications

Nick Hurd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether her Department's communications/support officer within the professional head of intelligence analysis team is affiliated to the Government communications network.

Angela Smith: The communications support officer within the professional head of intelligence analysis team deals with internal cross-government communications. The post is not part of the Government communications network.

Industrial Disputes

John Pugh: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate the UK Statistics Authority has made of the number of working days lost due to industrial action in the  (a) public and  (b) private sector in each of the last five years.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Jil Matheson, dated November 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question on the number of days of work lost due to industrial action in the  (a) public sector and  (b) private sector in each of the last five years. (303028)
	The Office for National Statistics compiles monthly labour disputes statistics for the UK. They exclude disputes that do not result in a stoppage of work, and stoppages involving fewer than ten workers or lasting less than one day, unless the total number of working days lost in the dispute is 100 or more.
	The following table provides estimates of working days lost in the United Kingdom between 2004 and 2008.
	
		
			  Period  Working days lost-Public sector (thousands)  Working days lost-Private sector (thousands) 
			 2004 742 163 
			 2005 99 59 
			 2006 656 98 
			 2007 1,002 39 
			 2008 711 48

Population: Bedfordshire

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate she has made of the projected population of Mid-Bedfordshire constituency in each of the next five years.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Jil Matheson, dated November 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question about the estimate of the projected population of Mid-Bedfordshire constituency in the next five years. (302924)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) produces population estimates and population projections for all local authority areas but only produces population estimates for parliamentary constituencies that are not coterminous with local authority boundaries. I am therefore unable to provide the figures you requested for Mid-Bedfordshire constituency.
	For your information the table below shows the projected population for mid-2010 to mid-2014 for the three local authorities which covered the Mid-Bedfordshire constituency in 2008 when these projections were produced.
	
		
			  Thousand 
			  Local authority  Mid-2010  Mid-2011  Mid-2012  Mid-2013  Mid-2014 
			 Bedford 162 164 166 168 169 
			 Mid Bedfordshire 142 145 147 150 152 
			 South Bedfordshire 121 123 124 125 126

Telecommunications: Databases

Nick Hurd: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how much has been paid by her Department to EADS for the development of technology to store and monitor internet communications data  (a) in total and  (b) in the last 12 months.

Angela Smith: The Cabinet Office financial systems show that no payments have been made to EADS during the past eight financial years. An exercise to provide information prior to 2001-02 would incur disproportionate cost.

Unemployment: Tyne and Wear

Jim Cousins: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many and what percentage of children were living in workless households in each local education authority area in Tyne and Wear in each year from 1999 to 2009.

Angela Smith: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Jil Matheson, dated November 2009:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question on how many and what percentage of children were living in workless households in each local education authority area in Tyne and Wear in each year from 1999 to 2009. (302456)
	Information at local education authority level comes from the Annual Population Survey (APS) household dataset, which is only available from 2004 to 2008. The number and percentage of children living in workless households for January to December for each year are shown in table 1.
	Figures for children in households are based on children aged under 16 years old living in working-age households. A working-age household is a household that includes at least one person of working-age, that is a woman aged 16 to 59 or a man aged 16 to 64.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty as different samples give different results. Table 2 shows the percentage and confidence intervals for January to December 2008. This is to give an indication as to the accuracy of the most recent estimates, and how much they could vary if taken from a different sample. These estimates are such that there is 95 per cent. certainty that from all samples possible they will lie within the lower and upper bounds.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number and percentage of children( 1)  in workless( 2)  households in local education authorities in Tyne and Wear January to December for each year 2004 to 2008 
			   Thousands and Percentages 
			   Children in workless households  Percentage of children in workless households 
			  Local education authorities  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008 
			 Gateshead 6 7 9 7 6 17.7 20.4 26.3 20.6 17.0 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 11 13 14 9 11 25.4 26.9 29.6 21.8 25.7 
			 North Tyneside 6 5 4 5 7 14.4 15.1 13.3 18.2 22.7 
			 South Tyneside 8 6 7 6 6 27.4 23.5 25.3 25.1 22.4 
			 Sunderland 9 8 10 9 11 17.7 16.2 19.5 21.7 22.0 
			 (1) Children under 16. (2) Workless household is a working-age household where no one aged 16 or over is working. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Percentage of children( 1)  in workless( 2)  households with 95 per cent. confidence intervals( 3)  January to December 2008 
			   Percentages 
			  Local education authorities  2008  Lower C1  Upper C1 
			 Gateshead 17.0 11.2 22.8 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 25.7 18.4 32.9 
			 North Tyneside 22.7 15.3 30.1 
			 South Tyneside 22.4 16.1 28.8 
			 Sunderland 22.0 15.5 28.5 
			 (1) Children under 16. (2) Workless household is a working-age household where no one aged 16 or over is working. (3) 95 per cent. confidence interval which means that from all samples possible there would be 95 per cent. certainty that the true estimate would lie within the lower and upper bounds.

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Children: Antisocial Behaviour Orders

Greg Hands: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what provisions exist for the punishment of parents in respect of breaches of anti social behaviour orders by their children.

Alan Campbell: I have been asked to reply.
	Plans to legislate for mandatory parenting orders when 10 to 15-year-olds breach their ASBO are contained in the Crime and Security Bill. Parenting orders are court-based orders that can be applied for by a range of different agencies in different circumstances. They are intended for parents who are unwilling to engage with voluntary measures. An order will specify requirements for the parent to comply with, for example, to counselling or guidance sessions for a period of up to three months. They may also have conditions imposed on them such as attending meetings with teachers at their child's school, ensuring their child does not visit a particular place unsupervised or ensuring their child is at home at particular times. These conditions can last for a period up to 12 months. A parent/carer can be prosecuted for failing to keep the requirements of the order. A parenting order is a civil order but breach of the order is an offence punishable by a fine of up to £1,000.

Children: Day Care

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many and what proportion of registered childminders were  (a) male and  (b) female in each local authority area in the South East in each year since 1997.

Dawn Primarolo: The Childcare and Early Years Providers survey provides estimates of the proportion of childminders(1) who are male and female in England from 1998 until 2008. These data are not available for years prior to 1998. Estimates can be provided of the number and proportion of male and female childminders by region for 2006 to 2008, however these data are not available at the local authority level, or for earlier years. Table 1 provides the number and proportion of male and female childminders in England from 1998 until 2008. Table 2 provides the number and proportion of male and female childminders in the south-east in 2006 to 2008.
	(1) The data provided refer to the number and proportion of working childminders. Childminders who were registered but not working are not included.
	
		
			  Table 1: Sex of childminders in England 
			   Male  c hildminders  Female  c hildminders 
			   Proportion of childminders (Percentage)  Number of male childminders (Percentage)  Proportion of childminders (Percentage)  Number of female childminders 
			 1998 0.5 470 99 92,400 
			 2001 1 400 99 71,900 
			 2003 1 800 99 72,100 
			 2005 2 1,000 98 56,700 
			 2006 2 1,200 98 56,700 
			 2007 1 620 99 59,200 
			 2008 2 900 98 55,300 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Sex of childminders in the South East 
			   Male c hildminders  Female c hildminders 
			   Proportion of childminders (Percentage)  Number of male childminders  Proportion of childminders (Percentage)  Number of female childminders 
			 2006 2 200 98 10,800 
			 2007 1 100 99 11,200 
			 2008 3 300 97 10,600

Class Sizes

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the average class size of  (a) primary and  (b) secondary schools in (i) Mid-Bedfordshire constituency and (ii) the East of England was in each year since 1997.

Diana Johnson: The requested information is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Maintained primary( 1)  and state-funded secondary( 1,)( )( 2)  schools: Classes as taught( 3) . As at January each year. In Mid-Bedfordshire constituency and East of England Government office region 
			  Average class size 
			   Mid-Bedfordshire  East of England 
			   Primary  Secondary  Primary  Secondary 
			 1997 26.1 22.1 26.9 21.3 
			 1998 25.7 22.4 27.2 21.2 
			 1999 26.0 23.0 27.1 21.3 
			 2000 25.7 23.2 26.8 21.7 
			 2001 24.4 22.9 26.4 21.8 
			 2002 24.1 22.3 26.1 21.6 
			 2003 24.6 21.8 26.1 21.6 
			 2004 23.9 22.1 26.2 21.7 
			 2005 24.1 22.2 26.2 21.7 
			 2006 24.7 21.0 26.2 21.5 
			 2007 24.5 21.3 26.1 21.3 
			 2008 23.9 21.3 26.1 21.1 
			 2009 24.0 21.6 26.2 20.8 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes CTCs and academies. (3) One teacher classes as taught during a single selected period in each school on the day of the census.  Source: School Census

Classroom Assistants: North East

Jim Cousins: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many full-time equivalent teaching assistants there were in  (a) maintained nurseries,  (b) primary schools,  (c) secondary schools,  (d) special schools and  (e) pupil referral units in each education authority in the north-east region in each January from 2005 to 2009.

Vernon Coaker: The following tables provide the full-time equivalent number of teaching assistants employed in local authority maintained schools in each local authority in the North East Government Office Region, in each January from 2005 to 2009 broken down by the phase of education.
	
		
			  Full-time equivalent number of teaching assistants in service in local authority maintained schools( 1)  by phase, coverage: North East Government Office Region, years: January 2005 to 2009 
			  Nursery 
			   2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			 North East 150 120 150 140 150 
			   
			 Gateshead * * * * * 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 50 40 50 20 30 
			 North Tyneside 10 * * * * 
			 South Tyneside 10 10 10 10 10 
			 Sunderland 50 30 40 40 50 
			 Hartlepool * * * * * 
			 Middlesbrough * * * * * 
			 Redcar and Cleveland * * * * * 
			 Stockton-on-Tees * * * * * 
			 Durham 10 20 40 40 50 
			 Darlington 10 10 10 10 * 
			 Northumberland * * * * * 
		
	
	
		
			  Primary 
			   2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			 North East 4,040 4,180 4,550 5,060 5,130 
			   
			 Gateshead 320 340 370 390 380 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 440 320 360 370 370 
			 North Tyneside 180 250 260 310 260 
			 South Tyneside 270 280 270 290 320 
			 Sunderland 540 540 640 680 630 
			 Hartlepool 190 180 170 260 280 
			 Middlesbrough 340 330 360 390 420 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 150 220 210 290 290 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 210 240 270 360 370 
			 Durham 730 740 810 860 940 
			 Darlington 160 190 220 250 220 
			 Northumberland 520 550 600 620 660 
		
	
	
		
			  Secondary 
			   2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			 North East 1,250 1,480 1,580 1,650 1,800 
			   
			 Gateshead 40 50 50 40 60 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 110 160 170 170 210 
			 North Tyneside 70 90 100 120 110 
			 South Tyneside 90 100 70 80 80 
			 Sunderland 110 140 150 140 150 
			 Hartlepool 100 80 90 90 100 
			 Middlesbrough 60 70 70 70 100 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 60 90 110 130 140 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 80 100 100 130 140 
			 Durham 160 170 200 200 210 
			 Darlington 50 40 60 50 50 
			 Northumberland 310 380 410 420 440 
		
	
	
		
			  Special 
			   2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			 North East 130 140 1,050 1,050 1,170 
			   
			 Gateshead 10 10 90 80 90 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 10 10 110 100 110 
			 North Tyneside 10 10 110 80 110 
			 South Tyneside 20 10 70 70 70 
			 Sunderland 10 10 120 140 150 
			 Hartlepool * 10 20 30 30 
			 Middlesbrough 30 30 110 90 110 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 10 20 10 80 100 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 10 10 90 80 100 
			 Durham 10 10 170 160 160 
			 Darlington 10 10 40 40 40 
			 Northumberland * * 100 110 120 
		
	
	
		
			  PRU 
			   2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			 North East 870 1,010 130 130 150 
			   
			 Gateshead 80 90 10 * 10 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 90 100 10 10 10 
			 North Tyneside 20 90 * * * 
			 South Tyneside 60 70 20 20 10 
			 Sunderland 100 130 10 10 10 
			 Hartlepool 20 40 10 10 * 
			 Middlesbrough 100 90 20 20 30 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 20 50 10 20 30 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 70 70 10 10 10 
			 Durham 180 160 10 20 20 
			 Darlington 40 40 10 10 20 
			 Northumberland 80 90 * * * 
		
	
	
		
			  Total all schools 
			   2005  2006  2007  2008  2009 
			 North East 6,430 6,930 7,450 8,030 8,400 
			   
			 Gateshead 450 480 520 510 550 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 700 620 700 670 720 
			 North Tyneside 290 430 470 520 480 
			 South Tyneside 440 470 440 460 500 
			 Sunderland 810 850 960 1,020 990 
			 Hartlepool 310 310 300 390 410 
			 Middlesbrough 530 520 570 580 650 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 240 380 350 520 550 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 380 430 470 570 610 
			 Durham 1,090 1,100 1,220 1,280 1,370 
			 Darlington 270 300 340 350 320 
			 Northumberland 910 1,040 1,120 1,150 1,230 
			 (1) Excludes CTCs and Academies. * = Zero or less than 5.  Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: School Census

Departmental Energy

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the energy  (a) rating and  (b) band of each building occupied by his Department and its agencies was in each of the last three years.

Diana Johnson: The Office of Government Commerce (OGC) publishes central Government departments' Display Energy Certificate (DEC) operational ratings (building by building level) on their website accessible via the following link OGC- Display Energy Certificate data.
	DEC reference numbers for each building can be used to view each advisory report accessible via the following link
	https://www.ndepcregister.com/home.html
	DECs were required from October 2008 onwards.

Departmental Information Officers

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many full-time equivalent press officers  (a) are employed by and  (b) work for his Department.

Diana Johnson: The DCSF has 21.5 full-time equivalent press officers employed by the DCSF permanently, which includes two part-time staff. There is one press officer on a fixed term contract of six months.

Departmental Internet

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many  (a) page hits and  (b) visitors his Department's website received in 2008-09.

Diana Johnson: The Department does not measure hits but rather measures visitors as more meaningful. The following table outlines visitors for complete months from January 2008.
	
		
			  2008  Visitors 
			 January 756,353 
			 February 626,914 
			 March 612,206 
			 April 566,149 
			 May 553,952 
			 June 875,664 
			 July 803,787 
			 August 446,029 
			 September 693,214 
			 October 697,840 
			 November 623,544 
			 December 472,978 
			 Total 7,728,630 
			   
			  2009  
			 January 688,960 
			 February 625,025 
			 March 769,199 
			 April 639,336 
			 May 699,345 
			 June 841,214 
			 July 799,683 
			 August 617,091 
			 September 932,359 
			 October 976,643 
			 Total 7,588,855

Departmental Rail Travel

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families on what date he last travelled by train in the course of his official duties.

Diana Johnson: The Secretary of State last travelled by train in the course of his official duties on Thursday 26 November.

Departmental Statistics

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of the statistical datasets collected by his Department it publishes.

Vernon Coaker: The Department for Children, Schools and Families publishes all of its datasets which meet the definition of 'official statistics' set out in the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. The statistics are published in accordance with the requirements set out in the 'Code of Practice for Official Statistics' and the 'National Statistician's Guidance on the Presentation and Publication of Official Statistics'.

Departmental Temporary Employment

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what the estimated cost to his Department of the implementation of the EU Agency Workers Directive is.

Iain Wright: holding answer 1 December 2009
	The Department only uses agency workers where there is a clear business need and usually to provide short term cover for posts. Given this, the Department does not forecast how many agency workers it will recruit in future years and, therefore, it is not possible to provide information on any additional costs.

Education

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what guidance he has issued to  (a) early years providers,  (b) primary schools and  (c) secondary schools on meeting the needs of multiple-birth children;
	(2)  what guidance he has issued to schools on involving parents of multiple-birth children in decisions on which classes their children should be in.

Diana Johnson: The school admissions code, mandatory for maintained primary and secondary schools, addresses the needs of children from multiple births in the school admission process. It states that admission authorities should take children from multiple births' needs into account when deciding which admissions oversubscription criteria will be used.
	The chief schools adjudicator recently reported to the Secretary of State on the admission of twins and children from multiple births. He recommended that the list of excepted pupils in the class size regulations be extended to include twins and multiple birth children, to ensure that they can be placed in the same infant school.
	He also recommended that all admission authorities must be required to consult on, and publish arrangements for the admission of twins and children from multiple births as part of their overall admissions consultation. The Secretary of State accepted these proposals and following a public consultation will seek to amend the school admissions code at the next opportunity.
	The School Admissions Code does not apply to early years providers and no guidance on children from multiple births has been issued to such settings.
	It is up to individual schools to determine which classes children from multiple births should be placed in.

Families

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will make an assessment of the potential effects on the incidence of family breakdown of trends in the level of geographical mobility.

Dawn Primarolo: We are not aware of evidence specifically linking trends in geographical mobility to the incidence of relationship breakdown in families. However, in the context of the planned Families and Relationships Green Paper, the Department has considered the factors which can influence family relationships and how families can be supported to sustain loving and resilient relationships.

GCSE

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when he expects constituency-level data on GCSE and equivalent results for the 2008-09 academic year to be published.

Vernon Coaker: The Department intends to publish the parliamentary constituency-level data on GCSE and equivalent results for the year 2008-09 approximately three to four weeks after the publication of the Achievement and Attainment Tables, which are scheduled for publication in January 2010.

GCSE

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with reference to his press release of 16 November 2009, Put children and young people at the heart of the care system, what the evidential basis is for the statement that the number of young people achieving good GCSEs has doubled in the last two years.

Dawn Primarolo: We have checked the care matters ministerial stocktake report and press notice. The report correctly said:
	In 2008 14 per cent. of children in care achieved 5 A*-C at GCSE (2008)-double the figure of 7 per cent. in 2000. But the press notice included an error which said:
	In just two years the number of young people achieving good GCSEs has doubled.
	We have corrected the press release online.

National Curriculum Tests

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils obtained level two or above in key stage 1  (a) English and  (b) mathematics tests in 2005 but did not obtain level four or above in key stage 2 tests in 2009.

Vernon Coaker: There were no data collected for 2005 key stage 1 tests in English or mathematics; however Teacher Assessment (TA) data were collected for key stage 1 in 2005. Information showing the transition from key stage 1 attainment, based on TA data, to key stage 2 attainment based on test data will be available in table 6 of the forthcoming Statistical First Release: National Curriculum Assessment at key stage 2 in England 2008/09 (Revised). This will be published on 1 December 2009.

Ofsted: Finance

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his most recent estimate is of the cost to the public purse of Ofsted in each year from 2005-06 to 2012-13; how much of the expenditure in each year  (a) has been and  (b) is to be spent on child protection; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: This is a matter for Ofsted. HM Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert, has written to the hon. Member and a copy of her reply has been placed in the Library.
	 Letter from Christine Gilbert, dated November 2009:
	Your recent parliamentary question has been passed to me; as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector, for a response. There is an element of work related to child protection in most areas of Ofsted's remit. It is not possible to analyse these costs separately.
	The cost to the public purse of Ofsted for the years 2005-06 to 2009-10 is detailed below:
	
		
			£ million 
			 2005-06 Actual 219 
			 2006-07 Actual 215 
			 2007-08 Actual 213 
			 2008-09 Actual 208 
			 2009-10 Budget 200 
		
	
	Budgets for the years subsequent to 2009-10 have not yet been set.
	Please note that the cost for 2005-06 relates to the work of the former Ofsted, the Office for Standards in Education. The costs for subsequent years are those for the new Ofsted, the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills, with its expanded remit.
	A copy of this reply has been sent to Vernon Coaker MP, Minister of State for Schools and Learners, and will be placed in the Library of both Houses.

Outdoor Education

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the average number of field trips made by students in  (a) primary and  (b) secondary education in each of the last 10 years.

Diana Johnson: The Department has not made an estimate of field trips made by students in primary and secondary education in each of the last 10 years. Schools are expected to offer their students opportunities for fieldwork as part of subjects they are studying, for example science and geography, or through extra curricular activities under the Learning Outside the Classroom manifesto.

Pre-school Education: Finance

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how much capital funding for nursery provision has been allocated to  (a) Poole borough council,  (b) Bournemouth borough council and  (c) Dorset county council in the last three years;
	(2)  how much revenue nursery grant funding has been allocated to  (a) Poole borough council,  (b) Bournemouth borough council and  (c) Dorset county council in each of the last three years; and what other sources of revenue funding for early years activities have been made available to each council in each such year.

Dawn Primarolo: Nursery Grant funding as was, is now covered by the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG). The DSG is given to local authorities to fund the wide range of needs of pupils aged three to 15.
	The DSG is allocated on the basis of an amount per pupil to meet all that needs to be funded. Local authorities are then responsible for deciding how best to apportion the overall grant to meet their local objectives. It is therefore not possible to disaggregate the amount allocated to nursery provision.
	The Department provides a number of other grants to local authorities to fund the wider policies of Early Years provision. The Sure Start, Early Years and Childcare Grant (SSEYCG) supports the delivery of the Government's 10-Year Strategy for Childcare and the goals in the Children's Plan, by providing funding: for Sure Start children's centres; for the Graduate Leader Fund; to improve the quality of and access to learning environments in early years settings; and to transform short break services for disabled children, among other things.
	Details of the amounts allocated to the various strands of the SSEYCG are shown in the following table. Many of the strands are not individually ring-fenced, and similarly to the DSG, local authorities are responsible for apportioning the grant to best meet local needs.
	Lastly the Standard's Fund includes funding to extend and increase the flexibility of the entitlement for three and four-year-olds to free child care. The local authorities in question received an allocation for this in 2009-10, details of which are also shown in the table.
	
		
			 2007-08  2008-09  2009-10 
			  Grant  Strand  Classification  Bournemouth  Dorset  Poole  Bournemouth  Dorset  Poole  Bournemouth  Dorset  Poole 
			 Sure Start, Early Years and Childcare Grant Children's Centres Revenue (1)- (1)- (1)- 1,676,318 2,770,062 1,018,560 2,043,172 3,702,219 1,381,840 
			  Sufficiency and Access Revenue (1)- (1)- (1)- 391,687 720,426 296,946 387,194 742,039 305,854 
			  Outcomes, Quality and Inclusion Revenue (1)- (1)- (1)- 404,941 746,629 308,036 438,074 846,851 350,216 
			  Graduate Leader Fund Revenue (1)- (1)- (1)- 212,599 435,959 137,871 284,893 582,250 177,502 
			  Every Child a Talker Revenue (1)- (1)- (1)- 0 0 0 107,418 0 0 
			  Buddying Revenue (1)- (1)- (1)- 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  Childcare Take Up BME Revenue (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- 0 0 0 
			  National Indicator 118 Revenue (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- 0 0 0 
			  Sure Start Local Programmes Revenue 620,426 669,774 0 456,402 625,807 0 453,148 453,148 0 
			  Disabled Children's Access to Childcare Revenue (1)- (1)- (1)- 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  Two Year Old Early Learning Pilot Revenue (1)- (1)- (1)- 0 0 0 135,572 165,836 133,050 
			  0-7 Year Old Partnership Pilot Revenue (1)- (1)- (1)- 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			  Work Focused Services Revenue (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- 0 0 0 
			  Achievement for All Revenue (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- 0 0 0 
			  Aiming High for Disabled Children Revenue 15,000 15,000 15,000 122,300 336,300 115,500 357,300 1,047,500 335,400 
			  Extended Schools Revenue (1)- (1)- (1)- 136,055 460,757 92,458 (1)- (1)- (1)- 
			  Early Years Foundation Stage (PVI) Revenue (1)- (1)- (1)- 15,620 41,223 15,362 (1)- (1)- (1)- 
			  Social and Emotional Aspects of Development Revenue (1)- (1)- (1)- 19,707 52,523 14,031 (1)- (1)- (1)- 
			  Main Revenue Revenue 2,071,040 3,627,762 1,365,067 (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- 
			  Transformation Fund Revenue 236,408 509,640 197,905 (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- 
			  Children's Centres Capital (1)- (1)- (1)- 179,498 667,272 269,943 372,158 1,402,445 566,784 
			  Childcare Quality and Access Capital (1)- (1)- (1)- 640,989 1,440,292 534,772 640,989 1,440,292 534,772 
			  Aiming High for Disabled Children Capital 0 0 0 56,700 149,000 53,100 132,200 347,700 123,800 
			  Main Capital Capital 2,056,968 3,555,642 1,994,757 (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- (1)- 
			  SSEYCG Sub Total  4,999,842 8,377,818 3,572,729 4,312,816 8,446,250 2,856,579 5,352,118 10,730,280 3,909,218 
			 
			 Standard's Fund Free Entitlement for Three and Four Year Olds Revenue 0 0 0 0 0 0 187,014 655,755 148,256 
			 
			  Total  4,999,842 8,377,818 3,572,729 4,312,816 8,446,250 2,856,579 5,539,132 11,386,035 4,057,474 
			 (1) Indicates that grant strand was not available in a particular year.  Notes: 1. Main Revenue and Main Capital include children's centres and childcare sufficiency funding. However, it is not possible to disaggregate into individual strands for the 2007-08 financial year. 2. Under the terms and conditions of the Grant Aiming High for Disabled Children, Extended Schools, and Quality and Access capital funding can be used to deliver services to an age range wider than early years. The services delivered by children's centres and local programmes may also link with other policy areas with wider age ranges.

Primary Education: Bedfordshire

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent representations he has received on proposed primary school closures in Mid-Bedfordshire constituency.

Diana Johnson: None. School place planning is the statutory responsibility of individual local authorities. This includes making sure there are sufficient school places, and also removing surplus places when required. To facilitate this local authorities have the power to propose the closure of maintained schools.
	Where local authorities propose to make any changes to local school provision, including closures, they must follow a statutory process, which is then decided under established local decision making arrangements. Ministers have no direct role in the process.

Primary Education: Greater London

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families when his Department plans to announce allocation of funding to primary schools in the London boroughs of  (a) Richmond and  (b) Kingston upon Thames in respect of the September 2010 intake.

Vernon Coaker: We announced on 30 November 2009 the allocation of £271 million of capital funding for the provision of additional primary places by 2011, to 34 authorities including both Richmond upon Thames and Kingston upon Thames. Richmond is allocated £3.3 million and Kingston £8.2 million. This will enable these authorities to start projects to provide additional permanent places for 2010 and beyond. This allocation is in addition to over £1.2 billion allocated nationally from 2008-11, to support the provision of additional school places.
	It is the responsibility of local authorities to forecast and plan to provide school places where they are needed. The Government allocate capital funding to support their provision, based on local authority forecasts. However, we accept that in some areas there have recently been local demographic and other pressures which have made this unusually difficult. Therefore, in July, we invited all authorities which are experiencing exceptionally high and unpredicted increase in demand for additional primary school places to apply for additional funding.
	Initially, we secured £200 million for this need, but when evaluating applications, and from discussions with authorities and representative bodies, we concluded that a larger sum, and more flexibility in our eligibility and allocation criteria, would provide appropriate support to a wide range of the neediest authorities.
	The Department does not allocate revenue money directly to schools. Local authorities need to allocate budgets to schools for the 2010-11 financial year before the 31 March 2010.

Schools: Admissions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many schools in each local education authority have a percentage of surplus places of at least 25; and if he will make a statement.

Diana Johnson: The Department collects information from each local authority on the number of surplus school places through an annual survey. The most recent data available relate to the position at January 2008.
	The following table shows the number of schools in each local education authority which have a percentage of surplus places of 25 or above.
	
		
			  LA  Number of primary schools with 25 per cent. or more surplus  Number of secondary schools with 25 per cent. or more surplus  Total 
			 Blackpool 0 0 0 
			 City of London 0 0 0 
			 Isles of Scilly 0 0 0 
			 Westminster 0 0 0 
			 Camden 1 0 1 
			 Darlington 1 0 1 
			 Sutton 1 0 1 
			 Ealing 2 0 2 
			 Haringey 2 0 2 
			 Lambeth 2 0 2 
			 Luton 2 0 2 
			 Richmond upon Thames 1 1 2 
			 Slough 2 0 2 
			 Southend-on-Sea 1 1 2 
			 Brent 2 1 3 
			 Islington 3 0 3 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 3 0 3 
			 Kingston upon Thames 2 1 3 
			 St. Helens 2 1 3 
			 Waltham Forest 2 1 3 
			 Barking and Dagenham 4 0 4 
			 Dudley 2 2 4 
			 Enfield 3 1 4 
			 Hartlepool 3 1 4 
			 Redbridge 3 1 4 
			 Torbay 3 1 4 
			 Barnsley 5 0 5 
			 Blackburn with Darwen 4 1 5 
			 Bracknell Forest 4 1 5 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 3 2 5 
			 Hounslow 5 0 5 
			 Merton 5 0 5 
			 Poole 4 1 5 
			 Telford and Wrekin 5 0 5 
			 Wandsworth 3 2 5 
			 Bexley 4 2 6 
			 Bournemouth 5 1 6 
			 Tameside 5 1 6 
			 Tower Hamlets 6 0 6 
			 Wokingham 5 1 6 
			 Hackney 5 2 7 
			 Harrow 7 0 7 
			 Kingston upon Hull; City of 5 2 7 
			 North Somerset 7 0 7 
			 Thurrock 7 0 7 
			 West Berkshire 7 0 7 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead 6 1 7 
			 York 6 1 7 
			 Barnet 6 2 8 
			 Brighton and Hove 7 1 8 
			 Bury 6 2 8 
			 Coventry 6 2 8 
			 Croydon 5 3 8 
			 Newham 7 1 8 
			 Oldham 7 1 8 
			 Peterborough 6 2 8 
			 Reading 6 2 8 
			 Rochdale 6 2 8 
			 Rutland 8 0 8 
			 Swindon 8 0 8 
			 Wigan 6 2 8 
			 Bolton 5 4 9 
			 Havering 8 1 9 
			 Leicester 7 2 9 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 7 2 9 
			 Halton 8 2 10 
			 Rotherham 10 0 10 
			 Stockton-on-Tees 7 3 10 
			 Walsall 9 1 10 
			 Greenwich 10 1 11 
			 Lewisham 10 1 11 
			 Trafford 9 2 11 
			 North Lincolnshire 10 2 12 
			 Solihull 12 0 12 
			 Stockport 12 0 12 
			 Stoke-on-Trent 9 3 12 
			 Bradford 11 2 13 
			 Calderdale 12 1 13 
			 Gateshead 11 2 13 
			 Hillingdon 8 5 13 
			 North East Lincolnshire 9 4 13 
			 Southwark 12 1 13 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 12 2 14 
			 Derby 13 1 14 
			 South Tyneside 13 1 14 
			 Medway 14 1 15 
			 Middlesbrough 14 1 15 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 15 0 15 
			 Portsmouth 13 2 15 
			 Warrington 14 1 15 
			 Plymouth 15 1 16 
			 Sandwell 15 1 16 
			 Bristol; City of 12 6 18 
			 Bromley 18 0 18 
			 Manchester 16 3 19 
			 Sefton 14 5 19 
			 Sheffield 18 1 19 
			 Herefordshire 19 1 20 
			 South Gloucestershire 17 3 20 
			 Southampton 13 7 20 
			 Sunderland 16 4 20 
			 Salford 19 2 21 
			 Leeds 20 2 22 
			 North Tyneside 20 2 22 
			 Wolverhampton 20 3 23 
			 Doncaster 22 2 24 
			 East Sussex 22 2 24 
			 Milton Keynes 21 3 24 
			 Knowsley 22 4 26 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 27 0 27 
			 Isle of Wight 22 5 27 
			 Oxfordshire 25 3 28 
			 Wirral 25 4 29 
			 Kirklees 24 6 30 
			 Worcestershire 26 4 30 
			 Warwickshire 26 5 31 
			 Liverpool 28 4 32 
			 Nottingham 27 7 34 
			 Wakefield 33 1 34 
			 Cambridgeshire 33 3 36 
			 Shropshire 35 1 36 
			 Bedfordshire 29 8 37 
			 Surrey 31 6 37 
			 Devon 36 2 38 
			 West Sussex 33 5 38 
			 Buckinghamshire 37 2 39 
			 Dorset 36 4 40 
			 Somerset 38 2 40 
			 Birmingham 38 3 41 
			 Cornwall 45 2 47 
			 Leicestershire 42 5 47 
			 Lincolnshire 46 3 49 
			 Northamptonshire 48 1 49 
			 Cumbria 43 9 52 
			 Wiltshire 47 5 52 
			 Gloucestershire 49 6 55 
			 Cheshire 52 6 58 
			 Kent 50 9 59 
			 Durham 55 7 62 
			 Staffordshire 55 7 62 
			 Nottinghamshire 60 6 66 
			 Northumberland 57 14 71 
			 Derbyshire 70 4 74 
			 Hampshire 64 12 76 
			 Hertfordshire 67 13 80 
			 Suffolk 74 12 86 
			 Norfolk 83 4 87 
			 Essex 83 11 94 
			 North Yorkshire 110 8 118 
			 Lancashire 123 12 135

Schools: Admissions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  which local authorities applied for targeted capital funds for surplus place removal following his Department's letter to directors of children's services on 16 June 2008;
	(2)  which local authorities received targeted capital funds for surplus place removal since June 2008; how much each such local authority received for that purpose; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: Seven authorities applied and all received an award.
	The amount awarded under the targeted capital funds for surplus place removal to authorities is set out in the following table.
	
		
			  Local authority  Allocation (£) 
			 Derbyshire 475,000 
			 Hampshire 898,000 
			 Knowsley 3,825,000 
			 Suffolk 2,165,000 
			 Bristol 2,100,350 
			 Shropshire 562,320 
			 Lancashire 600,000 
			 Total 10,625,670

Schools: Construction

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what response he has received from North East Lincolnshire local authority in respect of his proposal to bring forward from 2010-11 to the current financial year capital funding for building schools; and what proportion of the available funding North East Lincolnshire local authority has taken up.

Vernon Coaker: North East Lincolnshire bid for, and is taking up, an advance of £775,000 Primary Programme funding from 2010-11 in the current financial year. If the local authority and Voluntary Aided schools had applied for the maximum available advances, they would have received advances of £5,378 for Primary Capital, £1,979 for Modernisation, and £212,000 in respect of Voluntary Aided schools.
	In common with all other authorities, all maintained schools in North East Lincolnshire were allocated a Devolved Formula Capital advance calculated as 40 per cent. of the estimated 2010-11 allocation. In the case of the local authority and Voluntary Aided schools, this amounted to £1,284.

Schools: Enfield

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how many schools in  (a) Enfield North constituency and  (b) the London borough of Enfield have been rebuilt or refurbished since 1997;
	(2)  what plans he has to rebuild and refurbish secondary schools in  (a) Enfield North constituency and  (b) the London borough of Enfield.

Vernon Coaker: According to information received from the London borough of Enfield two new schools have been built in Enfield North; Keys Meadow primary school (2003) and the Oasis Academy (2007). Lee Valley high school was rebuilt in 2005. A further three new schools have been built in the rest of the borough; West Grove primary school (1998), Starks Field primary school (2004) and Highlands secondary school (2000). Tottenham Infant school was rebuilt in 2004.
	Enfield entered the Building Schools for the Future programme in autumn 2008. It is for Enfield to determine the pattern of school builds in consultation with the Department, Partnerships for Schools and the local community. Their strategy for change identifies five initial school projects-Gladys Aylward, Edmonton Country, Broomfield, Turin Grove and the Eldon Road Pupil Referral Unit.
	The Oasis Academy Hadley, that replaced Albany school, opened in September 2009 and will move into new state-of-the art buildings in 2012.

Schools: Norwich

Chloe Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many computers with broadband access there are in each school in Norwich North constituency; and what the average pupil/computer ratio is in each such school.

Diana Johnson: The Department does not collect the information requested.

Special Educational Needs

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many children with emotional, behavioural and social difficulties there are in  (a) Mid-Bedfordshire constituency,  (b) the East of England and  (c) England.

Diana Johnson: The requested information is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Maintained primary( 1) , state-funded secondary( 1, 2)  and special schools( 3) : Number of pupils( 4)  with behaviour, emotional and social difficulties( 5) . In Mid-Bedfordshire constituency, East of England Government office region and England-January 2009 
			   Mid-Bedfordshire  East of England  England 
			   Maintained primary  State funded secondary  All special  Maintained primary  State funded secondary  All special  Maintained primary  State funded secondary  All special 
			 2009 60 170 0 6,550 9,210 990 58,930 82,270 13,240 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes City Technology Colleges and Academies. (3) Includes maintained and non-maintained special schools. Excludes general hospital schools. (4) Headcount of solely registered pupils only. (5) Pupils at School Action Plus and those pupils with a statement of Special Educational Needs provided information on their primary need and, if appropriate, their secondary need. Information on primary need only is given here.  Note: Pupil numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.  Source: School Census

Special Educational Needs

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which maintained special schools he has visited since his appointment; and on what date each visit took place.

Diana Johnson: My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State has visited the following maintained special schools since his appointment:
	
		
			  Date  Schools visited 
			 3 April 2008 Michael Tippett school, London 
			 23 October 2008 Lyndale cchool, Wirral 
			 11 May 2009 Two Rivers high school, Tamworth 
			 10 September 2009 Jack Tizard school, London 
		
	
	In addition, the Secretary of State has visited the Treehouse school in Haringey, a non-maintained special school specialising in providing education and support for children with autism.
	The Secretary of State has also visited special schools in his capacity as constituency MP. In addition some of the mainstream schools he has visited also had excellent specialist units to support children with special educational needs.

Young People: Eating Disorders

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what his latest estimate is of the proportion of young people with eating disorders for whom bullying has contributed to their illness.

Vernon Coaker: The DCSF does not have any specific estimate of the extent of eating disorders caused by bullying. However, we do know that bullying can destroy lives and impact negatively on young people's confidence, self-esteem, mental health, and social and emotional development, so it is important that young people who are suffering speak out.
	Because of the effects of bullying, the DCSF has sent a strong message to all that bullying should not be tolerated in and outside of schools. To reinforce this message, we have given schools the powers to regulate the conduct of pupils, to put measures in place to promote good behaviour, respect for others and to prevent all forms of bullying among pupils.